


Because of Books

by Aquarianis



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-07 08:06:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 51
Words: 196,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquarianis/pseuds/Aquarianis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is because of a forgotten book that Eridan and Sollux meet in a library.<br/>Humanstuck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eridan: The Library

This is my first fanfiction ever, so please excuse the cheesy and cliche happenings!  
Anyway, I hope you get a kick out of it.  
Humanstuck EridanxSollux  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The library was deserted, a young man strolled through the aisles, relishing in the peace. He sighed and pushed his thick glasses up his slender nose, his violet eyes searching for a new book to read.

Eridan Ampora was approaching the end of his college course, he had chosen to follow his passion for the arts instead of a more academic pursuit. Eridan believed that his father had encouraged him to go, purely for the sake of having him out of the way.

Eridan was twenty one years old, and he honestly had no idea where his life was headed. He was having an existential crisis, and believed that the books he so loved would hold the answers he so desperately seeked.

As he picked up a particularly battered leather-bound book, he heard the 'fwump' of the heavy front doors being opened behind him. Eridan had tried to ignore the fact that his peaceful abode had been invaded; but now his head was filled with the sounds of a pair of feet plodding around, he grit his teeth as the shoes scuffed across the floor.  
It was infuriating that his silence was being ruined by this idiot. How _dare_ this person interupt Eridan while he was on his soul-finding, life-altering mission!? Eridan closed his eyes and gently placed the book he was holding back on the shelf. His hands shook as he heard the intruder _talking_ to the librarian. The final straw was when the despicable cretin began to _whistle_ as he walked through the aisles.

Eridan's eyes snapped open, and he spun around to face the destroyer of solitude, the bringer of irritation, the wreaker of havok, the...  
Young man who was stood behind him looking at a rather large book. He was slightly taller than Eridan, but looked as if he weighed half as much. He had a mess of dark hair, and he wore loose fitting clothes and... _Sunglasses_?

Eridan's lip pulled up on one side in a disbelieving sneer. What a pompous fool this young man must be, wearing _sunglasses_ inside!

It was at that moment Eridan recognised the man that stood in front of him.


	2. Sollux: The Library

Sollux Captor was nearing the end of his college course. He had chosen a course in computer engineering as this was his passion, and as far as he knew, the only thing he was good at. He had loved this course in the past, but had now grown frustrated with the work.

He stretched himself out on the beanbag he had been asleep on, his back popped and cracked in response. He let out an exasperated noise, and pulled himself up to look at his reflection in the full length mirror on the wall next to him.

Sollux was a tall, young man. The baggy clothes he wore hid his scrawny figure; and because his height made him look much thinner than he actually was, he looked as if he had been stretched out. He looked down at his reflection's hands, his long, slender fingers clenched into fists. Sollux forced his gaze upward to his head; he had dark brown hair that stuck out at the back and sides, and always looked a bit dishevilled.

He hated his face, all because of those damn eyes. The right was a warm brown and the left was a cold blue. Sollux reached for the sunglasses he wore to hide his disgusting stare. He hated himself, and he hated his stupid freak eyes.

He turned his back on his reflection, and began looking around for his laptop. After checking his desk and computer chair, he saw the corner of it poking out from under his bed. As Sollux lifted it out, he saw what had been underneath.

It was a book all about bacteria and decomposition.

Sollux's stomach sank as a memory from only a few months ago replayed in his head.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
 _Aradia sat on Sollux's bed, her wild and curly hair splayed all around her, her knees brought up to her chest. She had a very large book resting against them, and her full attention was on it._

_Sollux watched her read; he loved the way Aradia's nose crinkled and her eyebrows furrowed when she concentrated like this._

_She glanced up and met his gaze, her red lips curling upwards in a playful smile. "Sollux dear, I cannot study for my exams if you keep distracting me. How am I supposed to read when you're watching me with that look of puppy love plastered across your face?"_

_"You're cute when you read." Was his only response, and he turned away with a smile ghosting his own lips._

_Aradia laughed and pushed the book under the bed, she leant over and placed a gentle kiss on Sollux's cheek, "well, you're always cute." She said softly._

_They had gone out to dinner together after that, the book lay forgotten under the bed. That's where it stayed, even after they had broken up two nights later._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sollux had never moved the book, he had kept it in the hope that she would come back to him.

His fingers traced the letters on the book's cover, and on a whim he opened it to the first page where he saw yesterdays date. He hadn't realised that it was a library book, that must have been why Aradia hadn't come back for it. Sollux's head buzzed with the hope that if he was to text her about the book being late, it could start a conversation, maybe he could ask her out for coffee? What if he took the book back to the library himself? He could let her know that he saved her from the late fees, and she'd be thankful, right?  
Sollux knew he was being abnormally optimistic, and he knew none of that was true, but he didn't want Aradia to get billed for the late fees that he could have prevented. He reluctantly threw on a pair of scruffy converse, picked up the large book and left his apartment.

He only lived about 20 minutes away from the library, but he hated leaving his apartment for anything other than food. He took a moment to breathe and get himself psyched, then he started walking towards his destination.

After only walking for 15 minutes, Sollux arrived at the library. He reached out his hand towards the doors, but hesitated. He stared at the wood as anxiety bubbled up from the depths of his stomach, leaving a bitter taste at the back of his throat. After a minute frozen in this position, he regained a small amount of confidence and pushed the heavy doors open.

The subtle smell of old books hung in the air, but Sollux could hardly notice it over the suffocating silence. He stepped inside and allowed the doors to close behind him.  
Sollux scanned the room for the reception desk, and as he did, he noted that the library was almost deserted. He noticed a desk with a young lady sat at it, and he tentively walked over, gripping the book to his chest.

Sollux was very conscious of how loud his footsteps sounded.

His heart hammered as he approached the desk; the young woman looked up and smiled. She had above shoulder-length black hair, and her lips and eyelashes were the same shade of blue as her eyes. There was a badge on the front of her dress that said 'Aranea'.

Sollux awkwardly thrust the book towards her, "it might be late," he managed to force out. Aranea continued to smile as she scanned the book, "it says here that a miss Aradia withdrew this book, so I can only assume that you are doing a good deed in returning it. So I'll let you off this time," She said playfully.

Sollux didn't really know what to do or say, he stood completely still biting his bottom lip. After a moments hesitation he said, "well, then I'll put the book back for you. Uhh, I, thank you." He picked up the book, and looked around stupidly. Aranea giggled, "well, I can't refuse an offer like that! That book should go in the blue section, over by that young man. Thanks." She leaned forwards and flashed a wide smile.

They both turned towards the slim young man on the other end of the library. He had his back to them.

Sollux nodded, and started walking in the direction of the man, he tried to look for another route between the book aisles, but failed. He swallowed, and made his way over to the shelf behind the guy. In an attempt to convince himself and the two other people in the library that he wasn't scared of this possibility of human interaction, he whistled a quiet tune to himself.

Sollux found himself looking at the man, he had short, dark brown hair, and a slim build. His trousers were tight fitting. Very tight fitting. The view from behind was quite enjoyable, and Sollux smiled to himself. Unfortunately there was something that irked him; the man was wearing a scarf. Inside. It was Summer.

What an arrogant twat.

The man spun around looking extremely frustrated, and met Sollux's gaze. Sollux quickly looked down at his book, pretending as if he hadn't noticed him.

After standing there pretending to be interested in his book, with the man glaring at him, Sollux finally looked up. The first thing he noticed was that the chunk of violet hair matched the violet eyes that were watching him.

_'Oh fuck. Not this asshole'_  was all that crossed Sollux's mind when he recognised the man stood in front of him.


	3. Sanctuary

Eridan and Sollux stood frozen on the spot for about a minute, staring at eachother in complete silence. Finally, Eridan cleared his throat, "I didn't realise that you could actually _read_ , Captor."

_'Oh fuck, I was checking out Ampora! I feel so... Unclean.'_ Sollux inwardly winced at the thought. "I'm actually here to return a book for a friend," Sollux smiled, "Oh, Ampora, I forgot that you wouldn't be able to comprehend that. You know, doing a favour for a _friend_?"

Eridan's face flushed, and Sollux thought that the look on Eridan's face was well worth the anxiety he had felt on the way here.

Eridan neatened his scarf and smoothed out a few creases on this thin jumper, "Oh Sollux, your humour is such a refreshin' addition to my day. Are you plannin' on being here much longer? Your mere presence is taintin' my sanctuary."

Sollux laughed, "thanctuary!?"

When he realised what he had just said his laughter stopped and his smile faltered. His stupid lisp! He had been so careful to avoid any words that included an 'S' for so long, and now he'd slipped up. In front of Eridan FUCKING Ampora!

A smile tugged up at Eridan's mouth, "yes. My sanctuary. I would appreciate it if you would leave it." After a moments hesitation, Eridan added, " _pleathe_?"

Sollux's gaze darkened. He stopped slouching, and straightened himself up to his full height. He stood a good few inches taller than Eridan. "Don't fucking push me,  _Eridan_."

"I won't, _Sollux_ , if you leave."

That cocky bastard must have fixed that stupid stutter. This made Sollux even more frustrated with his own lisp. He was about to say something cruel when he suddenly smiled. Eridan looked shocked when Sollux said, "yeah, okay Eridan. You're right, I _am_ tainting thith plathe. I'll leave."

Sollux turned and left the library through the heavy wooden doors. He leaned his back against them, enjoying the fresh air, and the sunlight on his face. The smile hadn't diminished at all, in fact, it grew wider. "Oh Eridan, I did agree to leave, but i didn't thay I wouldn't come back. I think I may jutht come back every fucking day until you fucking thnap."

Sollux began his walk back to his apartment with a spring in his step. It was funny how deciding to torture someone brought him so much happiness.

  
Eridan had no idea what the hell has just happened. He wiped his thumb across his bottom lip, it had been a long time since he'd last seen Sollux, and that handsome, scrawny man still made him angry as hell.


	4. Tuesday

TUESDAY:

The day before was still playing in Eridan's mind as he entered the library. He was feeling a little stressed after a long day at work, and felt the ache in his mind that only a good book could fix. 

As he walked past the desk, he waved at Aranea, who returned the friendly gesture. He strolled through the shelves looking for something that would suit his tastes, and after wandering for a few minutes he decided on an old copy of a George Orwell book. 

Eridan carried his book over to a battered, high-backed armchair. His favourite armchair, and sighed as he relaxed into it. He smiled as he finally felt content for the first time that day, and savoured the moment as he opened the book to the first page. 

The sound of the doors opening a few minutes later was the first thing to grate on Eridan's nerves. He grit his teeth as the plodding footsteps echoed inside the building, and inside his head. After about 5 minutes of incessant footsteps, they started to get louder and the person approached the seating area. Eridan gripped his book in annoyance, he suppressed the urge he had to stand up and punch the peace-wrecker in the face. 

He almost dropped his book when he saw who this asshole was. Eridan's mouth fell open as the lanky person plopped themselves into a chair opposite him. 

Eridan looked at Sollux Captor, who looked smug as shit. 

Sollux did not make eye contact with Eridan. He just read his book and ignored the world. 

Eridan watched Sollux's little act. He watched him lick his finger before turning a page, he watched Sollux bring his legs up onto the chair. Eridan was fuming as Sollux got himself nice and comfy. 

This was completely unacceptable. Eridan snapped his book shut and stood up. 

Sollux didn't look up once. 

Eridan spun on his heel, marched back to the bookshelf, thrust the book back into the correct place, and stormed out of the building. 

Sollux grinned and stifled a laugh. 

It had begun.


	5. Wednesday and Thursday

WEDNESDAY: 

Eridan had been looking forward to coming to the library all day. He had been itching to finish his class and get going, so much so that he had been the first to leave when it ended. 

Eridan smiled to himself as he neared the gorgeous old building. He ran his fingers down the dark wood of the doors, savouring the feel. He pushed them open and walked in.

He relished in the delicious silence and the scent of books. This library was like a home to him; he knew every inch of it by heart, and yet it held uncountable worlds and universes within its walls, all waiting to be discovered. 

He waved to Aranea as he passed her desk, and as usual, she returned the greeting with a smile on her face. 

The book Eridan wanted was in the fictional section. He casually strolled over to it, trailing his fingers across the spines of the books passed. He slowed his pace as he neared the 'Q' shelf, and stopped completely when he reached 'R'. He lazily searched for the book he wanted, but his eyebrows furrowed when he saw it wasn't there. The entire series wasn't there. Eridan's eyes widened as he noticed... "No," he whispered. 

What was Stephen King doing on the 'R' shelf!? Where were his Harry Potter books!? What kind of sick bastard would mess up the perfect order of the... Oh fuck. No, he wouldn't...

The books were innocent! Eridan looked along the shelves; there were Grant books with the 'S' authors, Tolkien in the 'P', Harris in the 'Q'! Eridan's hands went up to his face, oh the humanity! The chaos! The unmitigated gall! 

He turned slowly and watched Sollux grin and wave from the libraries entrance. Eridan screwed his face up as Sollux disappeared behind the wood. 

He was getting pretty tired of this shit. 

  
THURSDAY: 

Eridan was jogging to the library, he wanted to get there before Sollux showed up and ruined his peace.   
He threw open the doors and looked around wildly for the skinny ass hat. Eridan relaxed when he saw that the library was deserted, after all, that was the whole reason that he came to the library this time of the day. He enjoyed the solitude with his books. 

After trading greetings with Aranea, Eridan cracked a grin and walked to the fiction section, his day improving as he saw that the Harry Potter books were back in their rightful place. He smiled gently as he lifted the first in the series off the shelf. Eridan knew that some people thought they were childish books, especially the early ones, but he appreciated the characters and the camaraderie. Plus, he also loved the magical side of it. 

He held the book under one arm as he walked over to his favourite chair, he could see the back of it from where he was, and felt relief wash over him as he didn't see any feet on the floor in front of it. 

As he walked around to the front of the large armchair, his nostrils flared. "How long have you been sat there?" He muttered. 

Sollux was sat with his feet on the chair, looking very comfortable, "Oh hey Eridan, I came here exthra early jutht to thit in thith very lovely chair." He stroked the fabric on the arms of the chair. He was feeling so smug that he didn't even bother to hide his lisp, he didn't feel self conscious or embarrassed about it at all. 

Eridan's face had turned an angry shade of red, "you havven't wwon Sollux. I am going to read my book no matter wwhat." Eridan looked ashamed of himself as the stuttering began. This made Sollux smirk, he had infuriated him so much that he had brought back Eridan's speech impediment. They were on a level playing field now, no more hiding their speech flaws. Part of Sollux even felt better about his lisp now, just knowing that Eridan struggled with his stutter made him seem so much more... Human. 

Eridan dropped himself grumpily onto a chair opposite Sollux, he frowned as he opened his book. Just as he was starting to relax, a movement caught his eye; Sollux was pulling something small out of his bag. He stared at Eridan through his sunglasses the whole time, a wide cheshire grin plastered across his face. 

Eridan clenched his teeth as he realised what the object was. 

Sollux brought the mobile phone up to his ear. Still staring. Still grinning. 

Eridan glanced at the wall with the 'no mobile phones' poster, he turned back to Sollux and shook his head. 

Sollux stared straight back and nodded his head in defiance. 

"No!" Eridan whispered, "you wouldn't!" 

"Yeth!" Sollux replied in a hushed tone, "I would!" He pressed the call button and waited. After a moments silence he began a conversation with someone on the other line, "hey KK! Nah I'm cool. Jutht in a library... Yeah I know! Yeah!" 

Eridan looked shell-shocked. He put his book down on the table between them, stood up, and walked out of the building.   
His mouth hadn't closed the entire time. 

Sollux nearly burst out laughing, his plan had worked and he hadn't even needed to actually turn his phone on.


	6. Punishing Sollux

FRIDAY:

Eridan had put up with enough from Sollux, he needed to put the young man in his place. 

The library was completely empty, even Aranea was nowhere to be seen.

A small sound escaped Sollux's lips; he has his back against a bookshelf, and had his wrists held tightly against his sides by Eridan. Although he was slightly taller, Sollux was completely at Eridan's mercy, and as far as he could see, this was something that they were both enjoying quite thoroughly.

Eridan leaned forward and pushed his lips roughly against Sollux's, who resisted at first, but slowly relaxed into it. Responding hesitantley for only a moment, then kissing back. 

Eridan released the wrists he was holding, in favour of exploring the smooth skin under the baggy shirt of the man in front of him. His fingers lightly trailing a path along the prominent hip bones, causing Sollux to flinch and gasp. Eridan took this opportunity to allow his tounge to venture into Sollux's mouth, who melted into the deeper kiss.  
Sollux wrapped his arms around Eridan's neck, pulling him closer.

Eridan's mind started to turn fuzzy, his trousers felt painfully tight. He pulled away from the kiss, and Sollux looked at him with heavy, lidded eyes. Eridan had always loved those heterochromia eyes, even back when they were younger, he was always disapointed that Sollux hid them behind sunglasses.

Sollux brought his hands down to unbutton Eridan's jeans, and relieve him from his boxers. 

Eridan ran his fingers through Sollux's scruffy hair, bucking his hips at Sollux's warm touch. He had almost forgotten that he was trying dominate the taller man, all he could think about was Sollux stroking his erection. A small moan escaped his lips as Sollux gently squeezed his sensitive head.

"Sol..." Was all Eridan could manage before Sollux turned them around, so that it was Eridan with his back against the bookshelf instead. "I'm... In charge," he whispered.

Sollux smiled, "then act like it. Thtop hethitating." 

Eridan flushed; he was getting frustrated, but it was hard to think clearly. He clenched his hands into fists Sollux's hair, causing Sollux to gasp loudly. "I am not hesitatin'. I'm enjoyin' this."

Seeing Sollux smile at this, Eridan bit his lip, and started to pull his head downwards. Sollux went down on his knees, and looked up at Eridan, who still had his hands clenched in his hair. Those damn eyes.

When Sollux brought his lips forward and took Eridan's erection into his mouth, Eridan moaned loudly and thrust himself further into the heat. Sollux circled his tounge around the firm head.

The heat rose through Eridan's body, it made his toes curl and his fingers tingle. His head swam with waves of pleasure, he couldn't focus on anything but that hot, tight mouth, and the swirling tounge. Eridan bucked and gasped, his eyelids fluttering, "fuck, Sol," he muttered. In response, Sollux gripped Eridan's hips and engulfed the full length. Eridan's world turned white as he approached climax, and when Sollux moaned while sucking, Eridan came.

As he did, Eridan woke up. His eyes flew open, his heart hammering in his chest. He looked around his room, and groaned angrily. He was going to need a shower before he did anything else.

He felt sick with himself for thinking about Sollux Captor in _that_ way. 

Again.


	7. Eridan: Friday

Eridan felt appalled at himself for having such a dirty dream about Sollux Captor. As he stripped off the boxers he had slept in, he mentally scolded himself for being such an idiot. He was not going to allow himself to think about Sollux like that, not after the hell he went through in high school.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_When Eridan had started high school, he only knew one person. Feferi Peixes. She had been his best friend since they were both about five years old. He had been devastated when they enrolled in different middle and high schools, but they both made a special effort to see eachother every weekend, and as many weekdays they possibly could._

_Most people thought of Eridan as Feferi's 'lap-dog' of sorts. She never really fought her own battles, she didn't have to, because Eridan would jump in and defend her honour no matter who the cretin was. He walked away from many fights for her honour with a busted lip or bloody nose._

_Now, he was changing schools to be with her, they had already completed the first year in separate schools, but now they would be together!_

_He smiled as he approached his new classroom. He stood outside the door, his heart pounded in anticipation, he reached out his hand to the door-knob and... Froze. What if they hated him? What if Feferi had moved on? He hadn't told her about his transfer because he wanted to surprise her. What if she didn't acknowledge him? Oh fuck, this was a mistake, he made a mistake, he needed to get out of there! Eridan's chest tightened as a panic attack began. He shook and gasped, the front of his purple sweater-vest clenched in one hand, the other hand attempting to hold onto the wall for support._

_He needed to get out of here._

_Eridan turned and tried to run on wobbly legs, but because his eyes were shut with the effort of trying not to cry, he didn't see the person until they had collided._

_"Hey! Watch where you're going you thtupid idiot!"_

_Eridan, opened his eyes as they sat on the floor, both boys glasses had fallen off. He grabbed his glasses off the floor and shoved them on. "I'm sorry, I wwasn't lookin', I didn't realise... I'm sorry," he looked at the person he had knocked over, and gasped. Staring back at him were the most wonderful eyes he had ever seen. One brown, one blue. "Are those real?" He said softly, not realising he had said it out loud._

_The other boy snapped his own mouth shut, and looked frantically for his sunglasses. After a second or two, he saw them behind Eridan, he quickly picked them up and put them on. "Don't take the pith." He muttered._

_Eridan looked abashed, "I wwasn't! I just..." He allowed his voice to trail off._

_The other boy's eyebrows knitted together, "are you going to get off me, or what?"_

_This made Eridan flush red with embarrassment, he hadn't realised that he was on top of the other boy until then. He jumped up as quick as he could, and began dusting himself off. When the other boy stood up next to him, Eridan put his nose in the air and put on his best brave facade. "Yes, wwell. Sorry about that. Wwe should both wwatch wwhere wwe are goin' next time."_

_The other boy scoffed, "both? You bumped into me pal!"_

_They looked at eachother with contempt. When Eridan made a 'hmph!' noise and turned back towards the classroom, he realised that they were both headed to the same place._   
_They were both going to be in the same class._

 

_Eridan had been introduced to the class by the teacher, and Feferi had stood up at her desk and waved frantically when Eridan had first walked in. They had spent the entire first period stealing glances at eachother and smiling._

_It was at their break that Eridan learnt who that young man he'd had the encounter with was. " That's Sollux Captor! He's really nice!" Feferi had told him. Eridan smiled, he didn't tell Fef, but he really liked the moody boy._

_Unfortunately, he and Sollux had not gotten along. What started as a crush on Eridan's part (he had never forgotten those fantastic eyes) turned sour, especially when Feferi and Sollux began dating._

_At first, he was jealous of Feferi for being in a relationship with Sollux, then he began resenting Sollux for stealing all of Feferi's time and attention. She never had any time for Eridan anymore. He felt abandoned and used, after all, it was he who defended her, protected her... Loved her without expecting anything romantic in return._   
_She was his rock, and the only thing that kept him sane in his swirling abyss of a head. She was the only person he had told about him being gay. With her gone, he felt dead inside, and it was because of Sollux!_

_He had decided that he hated Sollux, and it seemed that Sollux felt exactly the same way. They began bullying eachother for their respective speech impediments, and getting into fist fights over the tiniest things. All the while, Eridan felt as if he had been cheated out of his most important friendship, despite the fact he had many other friends, none of them had been with him for as long as Feferi._

_That year of high school was a dark time of depression, anxiety and the feeling of not being good enough for anything. He had been happy to see it finish, but not as happy as seeing Feferi and Sollux break up. Eridan had Feferi back, and that was all that mattered._

_He had started art college, and she began studying as a marine biologist. They were still best friends, and he treasured that dearly._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Eridan recalled all of this as he showered; he watched the soap suds swirl down the drain and the water cascading down his toned body. He turned the shower off, and stepped out onto the cold tiled floor. 

He grabbed a towel off the rack, and proceeded to dry his hair and face. Eridan felt clean and fresh now, but Sollux still played on his mind. He dried the rest of his body and threw on some dry clothes, after which, he began the time-consuming chore of perfecting his hairstyle.

Eridan emerged from the bathroom roughly 45 minutes later. He paused at another mirror in his hallway; his legs looked slim in his skinny jeans, and he looked ravishing in his long sleeved, tight, black shirt. He wrapped a blue-striped scarf around his neck, and stepped into some sleek, black shoes. Eridan looked fantastic, if he did say so himself.  
He picked up a small shoulder satchel, and put his phone, wallet and glasses case inside. As a last second decision, he added a sketch book and small pencil case to the bag. One never knew when one would be struck by inspiration.

 

Eridan left his home thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have any classes today, he was in too much of a bad mood after his dream. He set off for the library, hoping that Sollux wasn't there this early.

He most definitely was not in the mood for his antics today.


	8. Sollux: Friday

Sunlight streamed in through the window. Sollux had forgotten to close his curtains before he went to bed, and now he was paying for his laziness. 

Sollux squirmed in his bed; the quilt lay on the floor out of his reach, so he tried to find the next best thing; his sunglasses. Sollux never looked up from his pillow as he groped the top of the bed-side table. A moment later, he heard the familiar clatter of his glasses hitting the floor.

"Oh for fuckth thaketh." He muttered to himself, "fine. Fine! I'll get up!" 

Sollux stretched out, plucked his glasses from the carpet, and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. He leant forwards, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.

Thoughts of the dream Sollux had just woken from were dissolving away, only small glimpses of clinging bodies, heavy breathing and... Violet eyes... Remained.

An angry grunt escaped the young gemini's mouth as he tried to push these thoughts from his mind. "May ath well get thome breakfatht." Sollux told himself, ignoring the clock that told him it was, in fact, lunch time.

Standing up and looking around, Sollux spotted a shirt on the end of the bed, he grabbed it and pulled it over his head. It was black, which matched the boxer shorts he also had on, and one of his socks. The other sock was bright white. Sollux stretched as he strolled the short distance to his door, stepping over the discarded energy drink cans, dirty laundry and food wrappers that littered his floor.

He opened his door, and stepped out onto the corridor of the two-story apartment he shared with two friends. On his left, were the two closed doors of his house-mates bed rooms, and at the end of the short corridor was the bathroom.

Sollux leant over the chest-height bannister to look down the stairs to his right. He could hear voices. He passed the bathroom as he reached the end of the landing, turned, and walked down the stairs.

The bottom step was situated in the living room. This was the largest room in the house, and it was where everyone would hang out if they had brought guests over.

'Everyone's in the kitchen then.' Sollux thought to himself, he continued through the living room, to the door on the other side. He pushed this final door open, and stepped into the bright, white room.

"Holy fuck, it's Sollux! Did you shit the bed or something? I haven't seen you awake this early in fucking years!" Exclaimed a grumpy looking, short, young man.

"The bed remainth shit-free my dear Karkat. I would thtill be athleep if it wathn't for the thupid thunlight." Sollux slumped down in a chair opposite Karkat, smiling. He didn't bother hiding his lisp in front of his best friend, he was too comfortable with him to care.

"Well holy fucking damn," Karkat leant back in his chair, smirking at Sollux across the table, "welcome to the land of the living."

Another young man stood at the oven, colourful oven mitts pulled over his large hands. He stared intently at an egg timer, slowly, he dragged his eyes away from this to look at Sollux, a lazy smile lighting up his face. "Hey best friend, did you wake from a land of dreams to look for some nourishment?" 

Sollux gave a small smile back, He liked it when Gamzee didn't wear any of his strange makeup. Sollux would have gotten some breakfast-lunch, but he could smell a pie baking. He really hated pie, and didn't want to insult Gamzee and his cooking. "Nahh, I jutht came down to thay 'hi' before I head out."  
Gamzee nodded his head, his mop of black hair bobbing with the movement, "that sounds like a motherfucking shit-hot idea to me, bro. You have yourself some excellent times." With that, Gamzee turned back to his egg timer, still smiling.

Karkat crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. "You're going to the library again, aren't you?"

"Yeah. It'th a wonderful plathe of learning, Karkat. And you know me, I love to read." Sollux could barely hold back a grin.

"Don't give me that shit. You're only going to see him. Fuck Sollux, you're so obvious that it hurts."

Sollux's face dropped. Behind his glasses, his eyes blinked rapidly as he felt a twinge of anger pierce his gut. "Hold on KK, I'm only going becauthe I'm doing thith ath a revenge... Thing. I want to pith that prick off."

Karkat shook his head, "Look. I'm about to lay some fucking truths on you, so listen up. You two were as bad as eachother back then. I watched you both put eachother through hell, and you both fucking suffered for it. Why fucking reopen old wounds?"

Sollux hadn't really thought about it. He had enjoyed this past week because he felt as if Eridan deserved to be annoyed, but he didn't really stop and ask himself why he continued to do it for so long.

Karkat dug a finger into one of his own ears, "and now you're trying to think of a way to rationalise this whole thing. Just admit that you like hanging out with the ass-hat, and stop this absolutely ridiculous charade!" Karkat looked quite pleased with himself as he reached his conclusion.

"He ITH an ath-hat. That'th why I'm doing thith. You should thee how pithed off he getth, it'th like... Fucking hilariouth." Sollux stood up. "I'm going out. At leatht I can enjoy one thing today."

"You'll see, Sollux. And when you do, you'll come grovelling back to my abode with your fucking arm outstretched in complete submission. And I swear, I will rub your nose in my gloating, like rubbing a dog's nose in it's own shit when it craps on the carpet." Karkat had a very conceited look on his face as Sollux left the room.  
  
Sollux stomped to the bathroom. He peed, then brushed his teeth, and ran his fingers through his scruffy hair. He looked at himself in the mirror, he wasn't ugly, but he still hated his face. ' _I bet Eridan never has to worry about looking like shit_.' He thought bitterly.

When he got to his bedroom, Sollux threw on any clothing items that looked relatively clean. Fortunately, he only really owned black clothes, so he didn't have to worry about anything... _Clashing_.

Once again, Sollux ended up wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, with a gemini symbol motiff, and black jeans. He couldn't find a pair of matching shoes, so he ended up with one white converse, and one black converse. Sollux wasn't bothered by this though, he didn't care what people thought about how he looked. Not really. He hated himself too much to care about what reasons other people had for hating him.

He grabbed his phone, wallet and keys, and shoved them in his pockets. He pulled a thin black jumper on.

Just as he was about to leave, Sollux stopped. He had thought of how he would drive Eridan crazy today.

He whipped around and began searching for his back pack, he saw it laying underneath his computer chair. Sollux grabbed it and rummaged through it, seeing exactly what he had been looking for.

A smile sprung up on Sollux's face. Perfect.

He ran out of the apartment feeling much better, blowing mock kisses to a laughing Karkat and Gamzee as he left through the front door in the kitchen. He ran out the main front door of the apartment building, and almost laughed out loud as he slowed to a jog.

This was going to be amazing.

He hoped Eridan was already there.


	9. The Master Plan

Eridan sat on his favourite armchair with an exceptional book on his lap, and a very content look on his face.

He had already been here for three hours. Three wonderfully silent hours. With no Sollux in sight at all.

Eridan was wrapped up in his own little world, and for the first time this week he was feeling happy. He was almost too blissfully unaware to hear the doors open.

Almost.

He froze, praying to any Gods he could think of, that it wasn't Sollux Captor that had just entered. Eridan slowly turned his head and saw...

A woman pushing a pram with one hand, and carrying a bunch of books with the other. Eridan felt euphoric with relief, he felt like jumping up and kissing the lady just for not being Sollux.

She didn't notice that she dropped a book as she moved them from one arm to the other. Eridan quickly got up and jogged over, after all, he was a gentleman, and nothing but chivalrous.

He gently picked up the book and turned towards the woman, who had already reached the reception. "Miss, you dropped this one." Eridan held the book out towards her.

"Oh! Thank you so much," She took the book, smiling widely, "You know, this library just has the sweetest young patrons. It must be my lucky day to have been helped by two handsome young men!"

_'Two? '_ He thought.

"Hey buddy! Gueth who held the door open? I'm a regular thamaritan." Came a voice behind him. Eridan tried to control the anger that was bubbling up from the depths of his stomach. He forced himself to turn.

Sollux grinned happily as Eridan faced him, noting the reddish flush creeping up his cheeks.

Eridan refused to answer him. He focused on returning to his chair, flinching as he heard the soft footsteps padding after him.

Sollux matched Eridan's pace, he was in such a good mood he even stole a few glances at Eridan's behind. Damn those jeans were like a second skin.

When Eridan sat down, Sollux did the same in the chair opposite. Eridan felt his patience dwindling; his good mood had been extinguished.

Sollux wriggled his arms out of his backpack and set it down on his lap. He looked around for Aranea; spotting her heading down the colourful corridor to the children's section, her arms filled with the books that had just been returned by the pram-lady.

It was now or never, he only had a few minutes to execute his master plan. He dug around in his bag.

Eridan glanced up from his book to see Sollux searching through a battered old backpack. Suddenly, Sollux froze. A victorious look appeared on his face, and Eridan watched him pull something out of the bag.

Eridan went cold. _Not that! He wouldn't dare! The deviant!_

Sollux's hand emerged holding an unopened pack of Jaffa Cakes.

Eridan's eyes sweeped the walls, there were 'no food or drink' posters everywhere! If Sollux had chocolatey fingers after eating one, he could stain a book! This was _Unacceptable_!

As Sollux watched Eridan's expression change from a furious rage to a pained look, he hesitated. This sympathy only lasted for a second though, because he opened the bright orange packaging.

Eridan watched Sollux take one of the Jaffa Cakes out of the packet, and make an over-dramatic "mmm" noise as he ate it. He felt hatred wash over him, and tasted bile at the back of his throat. When Sollux finished his fourth chocolaty treat, Eridan felt his heart rate quicken, his breathing became shallow, and his face heat up. He couldn't take it anymore.

"You wwin."

Sollux looked confused, "wha' oo thay?" He asked, his mouth full of cakey mess.

"I said, 'you wwin' Sollux. I just wwant my library back. So wwhatever you wwant, I'll give it to you. Just leavve me alone, please."

Sollux watched Eridan suspiciously. He didn't trust that Eridan was being serious, but he looked completely defeated; his whole demeanour had changed. Worst of all, those eyes had lost their luster. Eridan hadn't even bothered to hide his stutter.

Sollux finished chewing and swallowed the food in his mouth, "Eridan, it'th jutht a library."

"No it isn't! I already told you, it's my sanctuary. It's the only place I actually like bein'!" Eridan even sounded exhausted.

Leaning back in his chair, Sollux thought about it. He didn't know if Eridan had suffered enough, but then again, he looked truly broken up about it.

Sollux rubbed his hands on his jeans. As he weighed up everything and pondered the pros and cons of the situation, he heard something that made him laugh.

Eridan's stomach was growling.

Eridan looked absolutely horrified at himself, in his rush to get to the library, he hadn't eaten.

Sollux straightened his face, and held out the pack of Jaffa Cakes, "want one?"

Eridan looked appalled for about half a second, then he snorted, then laughed. After a moment, Sollux joined in.

They sat laughing together, all the frustrations and bottled-up anger ebbing away.

Finally, Sollux began the conversation back up, "you know what, I'm pretty tharved too, I can't remember when I ate real food latht. Want to get thomething?"

"Really? You sure you wanna go somewhere with _me_?" Eridan asked sarcastically.

Sollux smiled, "I thuppothe. It'll be your treat after all. Let'th go!"

Sollux packed his Jaffa Cakes away, and Eridan complained about the injustice of it all. They left together, feeling as if huge weights had been lifted from both of their chests.


	10. Finding Food

Sollux and Eridan walked together in a comfortable quiet. They hadn't really spoken since leaving the library, their silence was punctuated with stifled sniggers at the thought of Jaffa Cakes.

It was Eridan who finally spoke, "Sollux, we've been walkin' in circles for twenty minutes, when are we goin' to decide where to eat?"

Sollux took note of the fact that Eridan's stutter was under control again. This made him conscious about his lisp, "I dunno. What are you in the mood for?" Sollux was careful to think about choosing his words before speaking, if Eridan wasn't going to stutter, he would avoid 's' words as not to lisp.

Eridan looked around, they were now in the center of town, surrounded by a plethora of fine restaurants. "Well I don't want to choose somewhere you won't enjoy, and I don't know what kinda food you like, do I? I know what kinda food I'm in the mood for, but I suppose I should consider my guest's palette." He smirked, and glanced at the man walking with him. "I believe that is social protocol, even if I should be the one to choose where we go, as I will be the one payin'."

Sollux shrugged, "I can't turn down a good burger."

Eridan scrunched up his face a little, "oh, please tell me you don't want to go to a fast food establishment. I have never stepped foot in one of them!"

Sollux laughed, "what!? You mean you've never eaten a Big Mac? A quarter pounder?" His mouth hung open as Eridan shook his head with a disgusted sneer on his face. Sollux became serious for a moment, "Eridan, have you ever eaten a chicken nugget?"

"Fuck, Sollux! That's not even real chicken!" Eridan looked as if he would throw up at the mere thought of it, "please tell me Sollux, what part a the chicken is the nugget? If I get a chicken diagram, would you label the nugget for me?"

Sollux held his serious composure, "of courthe I can. It'th right between the deliciouth gland and the miracle lung, it's a delicathy."

Eridan burst out laughing, and for a split second Sollux thought that it was because he had let his guard down and had lisped. "You're fuckin' quick Sollux, you come up with the funniest shit when you're on the spot like that!" Eridan remarked.

Sollux felt the worry slip away, and felt slightly more comfortable again. He smiled, "back to what we were talking about though, where to eat?"

Eridan rubbed his face with one hand, "uhhh, sushi?"

"Fuck no."

"Indian?"

"Nope."

"Chinese?"

"Nahh."

"Fuck, then where!?" Eridan was a little impatient at this point, they had been walking around for half an hour now.

"Eridan, I already told you, I want a burger. No posh food, no organic crap, nothing like that." Sollux scanned the buildings around them for somewhere familiar, he didn't leave the apartment much so he didn't know anywhere that wasn't a place that delivered. "Wait, what about that plathe?" Sollux was looking at a little restaurant on the corner of the street; it looked clean and nice, and there were a few people sat at the tables outside with burgers.

"Ehhh, I've never eaten there before." Eridan said quietly. He looked at Sollux, who was hungrily watching the people eat their food, "alright. Let's check it out."

Sollux nearly whooped with joy, he hurried across the road, and went inside the restaurant. He stood in the doorway, drinking in his new surroundings. The tables were wooden, with dark green placemats, the dining area was bright and very homely. Best of all, the wonderful smell of rich meats cooking filled the air, making Sollux salivate.

"Table for one?" A young serving lady asked.

Sollux looked confused, "uhh, no, I..." He looked around, and saw Eridan was outside the building. He hadn't noticed that Eridan didn't follow him in. Sollux turned back to the lady, "table for two, thank you. He'll be a minute." He said, motioning towards Eridan.

The lady smiled, and showed Sollux to a small table near the back of the dining area, "just wave me over when you and your friend are ready to order!" She told him.

Sollux smiled at her as she walked away, he sat down at the table, and watched Eridan through the window. "What are you doing?" He muttered quietly, trying to figure out what Eridan could possibly be trying to accomplish by standing outside.

After a couple of minutes, Eridan finally stepped into the building, and walked over to Sollux.

"What the fuck were you doing out there, Eridan?" Sollux asked as the other man approached.

"Felt dizzy." Was the only explanation Sollux received.

Eridan opened the menu that was on his placemat, and began scanning it for something he'd like. He tried to ignore the fact that Sollux was watching him intently.

After a minute or so he chose what he wanted, "I'm havvin' a steak, you still wwant a burger?" Eridan closed his menu, and met Sollux's gaze (at least, he thought he did. Damn those sunglasses).

Eridan's stutter did not go unnoticed. Sollux nodded, "yeah, I want the double beef burger, medium rare. With frieth. And a coke, no lemon. Eathy." He waved at the serving girl who had shown him to his seat, and she walked over quickly.

After relaying his order to the girl, who jotted it down in her notepad, they turned to Eridan.

Eridan fumbled a little, he had to double check his order with the menu as he spoke, "yes, I wwould like the, uhh, eight ounce steak... Rare... Wwith fries, an no dressin' on the salad please. An a coke please."

The girl smiled as she noted it down, and told the pair that it would be ready shortly. Then she turned and left to get their drinks.

"You sure you're okay?" Sollux asked, genuine concern lacing his words.He assumed that Eridan was just being fussy because this wasn't one of his fancy food outlets.

"Yes. I already told you that I felt dizzy." Eridan snapped, fiddling with his scarf.

Their drinks were delivered and they sat in silence for a while. Each contemplating what to say next.

"Tho. Eridan. You got a girlfriend?" Sollux asked.

Eridan choked on the coke he had in his mouth. " _G-girlfriend_!?" He coughed for a moment before laughing, "Sollux I've never had a _girlfriend!_ "

Sollux failed to hide his laughter, "uhh, okay. That'th a little thad, Eridan."

"No it isn't." Eridan replied, straightening himself up in his chair, "why would a gay man have a girlfriend?"

"You're gay?"

"Yes." Eridan sniffed indignantly, "I thought that was common knowledge, most people make that assumption about me, you see."

Sollux looked at Eridan for a moment. The tighter than tight trousers, the sleek shoes, the colour co-ordination... Not to mention that perfectly styled hair. Eridan certainly looked the part.

"Well, I don't like to make the connection between a perthonth appearanth and their thexuality. I mean, look at me? I don't exthactly look the part, do I?" Sollux leant back in his chair, and shrugged.

This was news to Eridan, he leant forwards in his seat, and rested his chin on his hands, "you can't possibly be gay, Sollux. You've had such a record with long-term girlfriends... Unless that has all been a front?"

Sollux held his hand up to stop Eridan's train of thought, "thothe relationshipth weren't fake, I really did like them. I jutht don't have a preferenthe for either gender. Love ith love, no matter what you hide in your pantth." Sollux was almost surprised at himself for revealing to Eridan that he was bisexual, but Eridan had come out to him, so all's fair.

This statement made Eridan smile, "that's a nice way to look at the world." He sipped his drink, "you know what, Sollux? You made my life hell this past week, but I'm glad. If you hadn't, I wouldn't be sat here gettin' to know you." He raised his glass, "to chance encounters."

Sollux lifted his glass, and tapped Eridan's gently, "to chanthe encounterth. It'th nithe to finally thee you ath a real human."

Before Eridan could come up with a snappy come-back, their food was brought over, and they both nearly wept.


	11. Burgers and Flashbacks

Sollux and Eridan began eating before their server had even let go of their plates. Sollux stuffed a handful of fries into his mouth, and had barely even began chewing them before grabbing more. Eridan used his cutlery on his food at least, but only because he couldn't bear to look uncivilised.

They didn't speak until they had nearly cleared their plates. Once again it was Eridan who took the initiative to speak first, "so, are you still with, uhh... Aradia, was it?" He asked, eating another piece of steak.

"Mm. Aradia." Sollux finished the large bite of burger he had in his mouth, "no. We broke up a couple of monthth ago."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Did you dump her? Or was it the other way around?" Eridan asked, eating a fry.

"Uhh, well, it'th hard to thay." Sollux made weird motions with his hands as he struggled to find the right words, "I gueth I dumped her. I mean, I did tell her that I never wanted to thee her again."

"Wow, so it didn't end on the best terms then?"

"Ha. Yeah you could thay that." Sollux took a large swig of his coke, "but on what termth are you thupposed to end a relationship when you find your partner in bed with another perthon?"

Eridan choked and spluttered, "wwhat?! She..?"

Sollux nodded, a wry smile on his face. "Yep. You remember Equiuth? From highthcool?"

"Oh fuck, the big, muscly guy?" Eridan furrowed his eyebrows while trying to remember more about him, "wait, I didn't even know that they were friends!"

"Well turnth out that they were more friendly with each other than anyone thought." Sollux said grimly, "they made up for lotht time over a couple of monthth, I found out that whenever I wathn't round, he wath. I never felt more like a fucking idiot than I did that day. Jutht theeing them together... It... It made me feel like fucking killing thomeone."

In an attempt to comfort him, Eridan reached out a hand and patted Sollux on the shoulder, "fuck, Sollux. How have you been doin'?"

Sollux only nodded and continued eating. "Better... I gueth. Maybe."

Another silence fell between the two. "Well she's not worth it, Sollux. She's the one missin' out." Eridan gave a small smile.

Although Sollux didn't return it, he did feel a bit better hearing Eridan compliment him like that.

As they continued eating their lunches, memories of that night flooded Sollux's head.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
 _Sollux hadn't seen Aradia for two days, the last time he had spent time with her was when they had abandoned the book and gone out for dinner. He felt guilty about not arranging to hang out with her, but tonight was going to be worth it. He had been dating Aradia since they were both sixteen years old, and now that they were nearing their fifth year anniversary, Sollux thought that their relationship was ready to be taken to the next step._

_As he walked to her house, he fingered the small velvet box in his pocket, his chest tightened and his breathing hitched with excitement._

_This was the single most impulsive thing Sollux Captor had ever done. Usually his anxiety would begin acting up, and he would lock himself away for a month just at the thought of doing something so spontaneous._

_But not when it came to doing something for Aradia. He loved her. and that was all that mattered. He would move the fucking world for her._

_He knew that her parents would be at work, they both worked nights thankfully. Sollux would be able to do this without having to worry about them making a big fuss about it._   
_Sollux walked up the garden path to Aradia's front door. He hesitated only momentarily as he reached out for the door handle, but then he remembered who he was doing this for._

_With a shy grin, he opened the door and stepped into the house. He quietly closed it behind him. He was grateful that he knew the layout of the house so well, because the landing lights were off and it was pitch black in the house, but he refused to turn them on and alert Aradia to his presence. Once again his hand went to his pocket and his fingers stroked the small box once again._

_That's when he heard it._

_The sound of two hushed voices, and Aradia giggling._

_Sollux hadn't known that Aradia was going to have friends over, he began climbing the stairs silently. He was a little jealous of this, and his brain ran through ideas of how to ask Aradia to get her guest to leave, so that he could continue with his plan._

_As he finished his ascent, he heard something that made his blood run cold._

_A male voice._

_At first he thought that she might just have a male friend round, which made him even more envious. But then he noticed that her bedroom light was off._

_Sollux froze to the spot. Thoughts flew through his mind at breakneck speed. This couldn't be happening, there must be a mistake, but why was her light off? Aradia wouldn't do this she couldn't do this he loved her didn't she love him too? There must be an explanation for this she must not realise how inappropriate it was to have the fucking light of when she has a male guest round!_

_His movements were slow and lethargic, his feet felt so heavy. Sollux's mind told him to turn around and leave, but his legs continued to move him closer to her bedroom door._   
_His fingers closed around the door knob, and even though he willed himself not to, his hand turned and the door opened._

_He reached a hand across the wall and flipped the light switch._

_Aradia whipped her head around to see who the intruder was, her mouth hung open as she saw Sollux staring right at her from the doorway. "Oh!" Was all she said before covering her naked body with her quilt. Her guest sat up next to her, his shoulder length black hair was tousled and his very muscular body had a sheen of sweat on it. Sollux recognised this guy as their old high school acquaintance, Equius. They both looked very ruffled, and quite a bit startled._

_"How long have you been with him, Aradia?"_

_"Sollux, darling, I-"_

_"How long have you been with him, Aradia?" His voice was a little louder._

_"Don't! I'm-"_

_"Aradia. I am getting tired of the repetition. How long have you been with HIM?"_

_"Darling, please listen to me! This isn't-"_

_Sollux was getting very angry now, his insides felt as if they were on fire. "I will not repeat mythelf again, Aradia." He flinched at his own lisp, "thtop it with the bullshit."_

_"I'm not! I swear! I just-" Aradia had the quilt clenched in her hands as she covered herself with it._

_"HOW FUCKING LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THITH TO ME!?"_

_"Five months!" Aradia finally screamed, tears falling freely. "I'm sorry, Sollux! But I still love you!"_

_This was a shock to Sollux, he was expecting this to be a one-night stand, truth be told. Five months of his life he had been dragged along, like a stupid toy._   
_He felt numb, he felt sick, he felt as if he would never be okay again._

_"Five monthth. Fuck. When the fuck did you two find the time to thee each other? And don't bullshit me, I've already caught you."_

_"When you were at your course, and I wasn't at mine." She admitted, her voice cracking slightly._

_Sollux nodded. He turned to leave, he had to get out of there, once again he was moving on auto-pilot._

_"Sollux! Please! I still love you! I just..! I just loved you both! So much!" She cried after him._

_Sollux flinched. He turned slowly, glaring with an intense loathing from behind his sunglasses. "I hate you, Aradia. I never want to thee you ever again. Don't call me, don't email me, if you thee me around, you better fucking walk away. Fuck you. Fuck both of you."_

_With that, he slammed the bedroom door behind him, stomped downstairs, flung the front door open and stormed through. He didn't bother to close it after him._

_He began to make his way back home, barely feeling the cold air, the past ten minutes replaying in his head. He felt relieved that Equius hadn't tried to say anything, otherwise Sollux would have probably attacked the larger man... And likely would have gotten his head kicked in._

_It was only when he was outside of his own apartment that he cracked. He began crying suddenly and desperately. His sobs wracked his entire frame, and his tears felt hot against his cold face. He pulled at his hair and screamed in frustration and anguish. He punched the wall of the building and felt his knuckles crack._

_When the front door opened and Karkat stepped out looking scared as fuck, Sollux threw up on the steps._

_Sollux continued to scream and cry, and punch the wall until he collapsed with exhaustion. He felt Karkat grab him in a rough, tight embrace. He cried into Karkat's shirt, clawing at him desperately._

  
_Karkat had held him for hours, his eyes wide and his body shaking with pure worry for his best friend. He had been terrified of the state Sollux was in. He didn't leave Sollux's side that night, for fear of what Sollux would do to himself if he was left alone._   


_Sollux hadn't heard from Aradia since that night. The small velvet box and its contents had been returned to the jewellers. And now, he had to live with a whole new range of anxieties._

_Yet, there was still a part of him that craved her. He yearned for her to stroke his hair, and tell him it was all a misunderstanding. That was why he had been so excited when he found her book. He just wanted it all to go back to how it was before._

_Sollux hated himself for not being completely over her, despite what she had done to him. No-one had ever loved him she had, and it was the only thing that made him feel human._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sollux stared across the table at Eridan, who was smiling sadly, almost as if he knew what Sollux was thinking about.

"I'm sorry I brought her up." Eridan said, his eyes showing genuine remorse.

"Don't worry about it," Sollux replied, waving his hand nonchalantly.

Their plates were completely free from food, and both men felt much better now that they had something in their stomachs.

Eridan picked up his menu again, and began scanning it. He smiled as he looked up from it, "hey Sollux. Want a dessert?"


	12. Desserts and Goodbyes

Sollux listened to Eridan reading the desserts menu to him, he was feeling a little defeated after being reminded of Aradia, but he appreciated how hard Eridan was trying to get his mind off it.

He perked up at the sound of a honey-drizzled cheesecake. "Read the dethcription to me, Eridan." He asked, lifting his head off the table.

Eridan raised an eyebrow, and eyed him over the top of the menu. "Uhh, ' _a vanilla and honey cheesecake with a biscuit base, drizzled with our finest honey_.' Oh, it also says it will _'blow your mind'_." Eridan smiled slyly, "does that tempt you? Am I goin' to be the devil's advocate here, Sollux?"

Sollux did think that it sounded absolutely delicious, and he preferred honey to all the chocolaty desserts that Eridan had described to him.

"That'th the one I want," Sollux said, his mind finally off Aradia.

"Well I for one will be gettin' the creamiest, chocolatiest, fattiest dessert I can find on here." Eridan muttered, his eyes roaming the menu page. After a minute, his eyes stopped wandering, and a grin spread across his face, "do you think anyone would judge me if I ate an entire fuckin' sharin' platter a profiteroles?"

Sollux snorted, "do you care even if they _do_ judge you?"

"No... Not really. My belly will be full a cream, chocolate an pastry. I'll probably be so fuckin' fat an euphoric that they'll need to carry me out of here in a wheelbarrow."

This made Sollux laugh. He was beginning to relax again.

Eridan smiled warmly at Sollux, "alright, I'll go place our order."

Sollux watched Eridan walk to the cash register to place their dessert order. He really did look great from behind.

After a few minutes, Eridan returned to the table with a glass of coke in each hand. He handed one to Sollux, "I thought we were runnin' a little low."

Sollux finished the last few mouthfuls of his first drink, and pushed the empty glass to one side of the table."tho now that we've ethtablished that you do not have a _girlfriend_ ," Sollux said, bringing up the conversation they had earlier, "what about a boyfriend?"

Eridan took a long, slow drink from his glass before answering, "no. I don't have any significant other in my life. Not at the moment anyway." He hesitated before adding, "I don't need one to be happy."

"Eridan, wou- "

Just as Sollux was about to say something, their waitress came over to their table, and he snapped his mouth firmly shut. The three made idle chitchat as she picked up the dirty crockery, and when she left, the table was clean and orderly again.

Eridan watched Sollux with his head slightly cocked to one side, "what? Was you about to ask me somethin'?"

"Nope. Nothing at all. Can't remember." Sollux was mentally kicking himself for what he had nearly said.

An awkward silence settled around them like a heavy cloud, and they waited for their desserts to come. Each struggling to find something to lift the mood.

After a few minutes of waiting, a waiter came over carrying one plate, and a rather large bowl. Sollux felt a childish excitement come over him when he saw the gorgeous cream cake, the gold criss-crossing, the thick biscuit bottom. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, he was in love.  
The first thing Sollux did was cut it into two perfect halves. It physically hurt him to do so, but it was tradition, and he had promised to always do this for the most important person in his life. He meant more to Sollux than cake ever could, even if the cake was perfection.

Eridan thanked their server, and watched Sollux's little ritual. "Sollux, what are you doin'?"

Sollux picked up a wide spoon, "oh, uhh, well... I promithed my twin brother that if I go out to eat, and get a pudding, I'd thave him half." He spooned a chunk of the cheesecake into his mouth, savouring the mulled sweetness as he chewed, "we have the thame tathte in thweet thingth, tho it'th eathy enough. Pluth Mituna doethn't get to have a lot of thweet thingth..."

The reaction Eridan gave was quite surprising, " _half_? You want to give your 'Mituna' HALF a the cake that I bought for you?! I can't put up with that, Sollux."

Sollux stopped chewing. He froze in his place. What was this bastard trying to say?

Eridan stood up in a huff. He turned on the spot and walked away.

Sollux's mouth dropped open. What the fuck had he said to get that hipster's pants in a knot!? He was about to get angry, and call Eridan something very colourful, when he saw what happened next.

Eridan marched up to the cash register, and began speaking to the man who had brought over their orders only moments before. Then he returned to the table, sat down, and stared at Sollux. "Close your mouth, you have food in it, an it is positively disgustin' to see."

It took him a few seconds to respond, but finally, Sollux clamped his mouth shut and swallowed. "What the fuck wath that about?" He asked, still not understanding Eridan's actions.

"I bought you that piece of cake as a treat. You looked sad, an sad people deserve cake. That piece of cake is yours, an you will eat every last crumb." Eridan looked quite serious, "that is sad-cake. Not sharin'-cake."

The waiter walked over and placed a small cardboard box onto the table, with a smile. He immediately left the table to tend to other customers.

" _That_ , is sharin'-cake." Eridan stated, pointing at the box.

When Sollux flipped the lid off, he saw that there was an identical piece of cheesecake to the one he had started eating, inside. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked up slowly.

"Sollux, I told you that I can't put up with you givin' half of that cake away." Nervous fingers returned to the scarf, "I'm sure you'll both be happier with a full piece each... Won't you?"

Sollux wanted to say 'thank you', but he was still reeling from the little bratty act that Eridan had put on to throw him off. He just nodded dumbly, and returned his gaze to the mess on his plate.

"Fuck. I did not think this through. Look at the fuckin' size a this thing!" Eridan was staring at the mountain of profiteroles in front of him, "there's gotta be like, fifty here!" He actually looked horrified.

Sollux hadn't even noticed Eridan's dessert, he had been too enthralled by his own. It was a beast; a mound of small pastries filled to bursting point with cream, and smothered in a thick, melted chocolate sauce. It looked amazing. He looked up at Eridan's expression, and burst out laughing.

"Well you ordered it, you fat shit." Sollux laughed.

"I did... I really did. Oh shit, Sollux, why didn't you talk me outta it?!" Eridan moaned.

"Well, eat what you can, and I'll take the retht with me!" Sollux smiled slyly, knowing full well that he would be taking home most of that goliath pudding.

"... It was supposed to be a _sharin_ ' plate..." Eridan whined quietly, "...For _four_ people..."

This made Sollux snort as tears sprung to his eyes. "You're a fucking monthter Eridan! What the fuck!?"

Eridan picked up his spoon, "I regret this decision, but I'll be damned if I'm not tryin' to conquer it."

To his merit, Eridan ate about a third of his dessert before he announced that he would throw up if he ate another bite. He had called a random server over for another food box, and while they fetched it, he popped four profiteroles into Mituna's cake carton.

"You didn't have to do that, Eridan." Sollux muttered, feeling a little guilty.

"Yes I did. As you said, your Mituna doesn't get a lot of sweets, so it's a special occasion." Eridan licked a bit of chocolate off the side of his own hand. "Besides, you didn't complain when you finished your entire bloody cake!"

After the rest of the profiteroles had been packed away into a separate box, Sollux tried to offer it to Eridan as a gesture of good will, but Eridan flapped around dramatically saying that he would never look at another pastry ever again. So Sollux left with two boxes to share with his brother and housemates.

Eridan paid the bill and left a generous tip before they left. With no other plans, they both decided it was getting late and to call it a day.

They walked home in the same direction, Eridan complaining the whole way about feeling sick from over-eating.

Standing outside Eridan's home, they shared a long silence.

"Thankth for... Today." Sollux smiled.

"Well, thank you for drivin' me insane for the past week." Eridan replied sarcastically, "Oh! Here..." Eridan pulled his sketchpad out of his bag, and searched for his pencil, he began scribbling something down, "this.. Is my number." He ripped the page out and handed it to Sollux.

Sollux looked at the phone number. Even this guys _handwriting_ looked pretentious! He smirked to himself, and pocketed the piece of paper. "Well, here'th mine then." He took the sketchbook off Eridan and scrawled his number down.

After he finished, they smiled at eachother.

"It wwas actually quite enjoyable to spend time wwith you, Sollux." Eridan said as he climbed the steps to his front door. Once again fingering his scarf.

"Yeah, thith wath fun."

Eridan turned with a wide grin, "but seriously, stay awway from my library!" He unlocked his door, trying not to laugh. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something smack him in the back. He turned around to see Sollux running down the street screeching with laughter.  
Eridan looked at what had Sollux had thrown at him, his hand flying up to his mouth to stifle a chuckle.

Half a pack of Jaffa Cakes lay on the ground.


	13. Sollux: Seeing Mituna

Eridan locked his front door behind him after entering his home, he triple-checked that the door was most definitely locked before walking away. After removing his shoes and placing them on the shoe-rack, he strolled into the front room and set the half-pack of Jaffa Cakes down on the coffee-table. Smiling, Eridan flopped down on his sofa, and dropped his sketchbook onto the floor. Today had drained him.

Despite the fact he had really enjoyed himself, and had loved finally getting to know his high-school crush and rival, weariness gnawed at his mind. Eridan stared at the ceiling as he replayed the past few hours over in his head. 

He remembered how he had stood outside the restaurant for so long that Sollux had noticed, and the only excuse was that he could make up was that he was 'dizzy'. Eridan groaned and covered his face with his arms, feeling absolutely pathetic. The truth was that he was checking the windows for the familiar cleanliness-safety poster. He couldn't possibly eat at any establishment that couldn't pass a simple cleanliness check. 

Eridan also felt very nervous when he went to any new places; he didn't know who would be there or what the atmosphere would be like. Despite his flamboyant exterior, Eridan was quite nervous, and worried extensively about meeting and interacting with people. Thankfully, he never really needed to spend much time in the company of others, apart from when he was in class, or in a public place.

Eridan loved living on his own, he didn't really like sharing space with anyone else. It was because of this that he didn't believe that he could ever live with another person, he couldn't bear the thought of having someone else intruding on his privacy.

But, the silence got to him. He wished he had someone that could greet him whenever he got home, that someone would miss him when he was gone. Instead, he came home to nothing. And it was the nothingness, the unyielding silence, that got to him most. Some days he couldn't bear the thought of returning to his house.

This was why he loved his library so much. He adored the tranquillity of it, it was a beacon of light in his otherwise lonely and secluded existence. Eridan loved being able to share a small gesture of acknowledgement with Aranea, and to be free to enjoy the warm quiet of the library and the plethora of knowledge.

Slowly, he sat up, and flipped open his sketchbook, he soon found what he was looking for. A phone number.

Eridan typed the number into his phone, and saved it to his contact list. It was a little to early to send a text just yet, but he was a little excited to see if Sollux would text him first. He smiled as he touched the phone to his lips.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sollux didn't slow his pace until he had passed the corner, he gasped and wheezed with a massive cheesy grin spread across his face. He needed to get more exercise, this was a little embarrassing for him to be worn out so quickly.

He stood for a minute or so, breathing deeply, and turning his face upwards towards the sun. He thought about how strange it was that he and Eridan lived only a short walking distance from eachother, it was a small world! Sollux would have been surprised about the fact that they had never seen eachother around before this Monday, if not for the fact that he didn't really go outside much.

After his lungs stopped screaming for air, and his heart rate returned to normal, he began walking again. Sollux was heading to his parents house, he wanted to give Mituna the cakes before they got stale and gross. He was not looking forward to the time it was going to take to get there and back, but he was excited to seeing his brother's face when he gave him the treats. It would definitely be worth it.

The walk took about 45 minutes, and by the time Sollux reached the front door, he was feeling the burn. He _really_ needed to get out more. He froze as he brought his hand up to knock the door, he looked at the window to his left, and saw that the net curtain that usually covered the living room window had been pulled to one side. In its place was a face. It was pushed up against the glass, nose squashed flat, and eyes barely visible under a fluffy mop of dark hair.

Sollux and Mituna mirrored each-others expressions from either side of the glass that separated them. Mituna's face disappeared, and after only a second, the front door was flung open, and Sollux had barely enough time to throw his arms (still holding the boxes of cakes) above his head before he was pulled into a crushing hug.

"I mithed you tholluxth! You haven't been around in ageth!" Mituna held on tightly.

Sollux smiled, he felt his twins fluffy hair tickle his cheek. "I mithed you too, Tuna." 

It was only after Mituna pulled away from the tight embrace that he noticed the boxes Sollux was holding. "What'th that Tholluxth?" He asked, his eyes glittering with hope and anticipation.

Sollux stared into the eyes that he loved so much on his brother, but hated so much on his own face. They shared the same eye colouring, but Sollux believed that Mituna wore them well, they suited him, and made him look very cute. Sollux, on the other hand, felt ugly and shameful when he looked at his own.

"Well, it _miiight_ be a treat, for you."

"Tholluxth!" Mituna grinned happily, "I'll go athk dad if I can eat them now! I've already had my dinner! I'm tho exthited!" With this, he ran inside the house, calling for their father.

Sollux followed him, closing the front door behind himself. He walked through the dining room and into the kitchen, where his father was washing dishes, "you alright, dad?" Sollux greeted the tall man.

His father turned, and smiled at Sollux. His father's name was Simon. He was a kind looking man; his warm, brown eyes stared out from behind half-moon glasses. He was tall and slim, and had short, dark blonde hair. "Sollux, I wasn't expecting you to visit today, I would've cooked you something."

"Nahh, I ate thomething already, don't worry about it." Sollux set the cake boxes down on the kitchen unit, opening them both to check which one was for Mituna, and which one was for Karkat and Gamzee.

His father eyed the boxes, "that's an awful lot of cake for one young man," he chuckled a little.

"It'th not all mine, dad. The perthon I went out for food with bought too much dethert, tho he thaid I could bring it all back for Tuna and KK." Sollux closed the lid of the container that held only profiteroles, but left Mituna's open. 

They stopped their conversation as they heard the frantic foot steps of Mituna running around upstairs searching for his father. In his excitement, he had forgotten that their father had been in the kitchen.

"Dad... Dad..! DAD! Tholluxth got me thomething! DAAAD!" Mituna thudded downstairs, and ran full-speed into the kitchen. Finally finding himself face-to-face with Sollux and Simon. "Dad! Didn't you hear me!?" He shouted, "I ate all my dinner, can I pleathe have the treat!?"

Both twins looked at their father, hopefully. He sighed and rolled his eyes, then handed them two spoons, "go on then."

"Thankth dad!" Mituna nearly screamed, he snatched the spoons and grabbed Sollux's hand. Sollux nearly didn't have enough time to pick up the cake box for Mituna, before he was dragged away by him.

They ran upstairs together, towards the bedroom they had shared for so many years. Sollux plonked himself onto the bed; it had yellow and black striped bed-covers, and two large, plump pillows. Sollux grabbed the black pillow, and put it between himself and the wall, Mituna did the same with the yellow one.

"Tho what did you get me?" Mituna asked, trying to sneak a peek at the contents of the box that Sollux was holding, giving one of his spoons to Sollux as he did so.

Sollux grinned as he set the box down on the bed, he watched Mituna's eyes widen.

"Thank you Tholluxth!" After a moments hesitation, Mituna added, "are we going to share the caketh?"

"Nope. I already ate, tho you got the whole cake to yourthelf. Aaand you get to try thothe oneth, they're called 'profiteroleth'."

Mituna's whole face lit up, and he began digging in happily.

Sollux smiled as he watched Mituna enjoying himself, he loved his brother more than anything. But, there was a part of him at the back of his mind that missed how his brother was.

Before the accident.

This thought was pushed away as quickly as it appeared. Sollux loved Mituna, regardless of how he had changed.

They sat together on the bed. Sollux listened to Mituna happily chatting away about his new skateboard and his girlfriend Latula, and about how great the cakes were.  


After a few hours hanging out with Mituna, Sollux had to leave. He had a lot of work to do for his course, and it was nearly time for Mituna to start winding down before going to bed. They shared a long, tight hug before Sollux left, "I'll be round again thoon, okay Tuna?"

"Okay, thankth for the caketh, Tholluxth!" Mituna ran to the window, and pulled back the curtain and the net, waiting for Sollux to leave.

Sollux turned to his dad, who was sat on the navy blue sofa, "thee you later, dad."

"Don't be a stranger, Sollux. Be careful getting home."

Sollux shouted a goodbye as he left through the front door, walking away from the house backwards so that he could mirror Mituna's enthusiastic waving through the window until he was out of sight.

Sollux always regretted having to leave, but he had a lot of coding that needed to be finished. He moved the box of cakes for his friends from one hand to the other, and quickened his walking speed a little. He wanted to get home soon.


	14. The Peace Offering

When Sollux walked into his own kitchen, he was immediately confronted by an angry-looking Karkat.

"Sollux you complete ass-fuck I haven't heard dick from you all fucking day!"  
"Hello to you too, KK."

"Don't fucking _'hello'_ me you turd-fucking, ass-wrangling, shit-eating..! Oooh, what's that?" Karkat watched as Sollux opened the box towards him as an offering.

The chocolate on the profiteroles glistened, and Karkat eyed them like a magpie would a necklace. Sollux moved the box left and right, and Karkat's eyes followed.

"Look KK! I bring you a peathe offering."

Karkat looked up at Sollux, his eyes narrowed, "damn right it's a peace offering." He snatched the box out of Sollux's hands and sat at the kitchen table. He continued to glare until Sollux sat down opposite him, and Karkat put an arm protectively around the small box, "so, tell me about your day then. Please indulge me in your fucking thrilling tales of adventures and best-fucking-friend ignoring."

Sollux waited until Karkat had pulled a spoon out of the cutlery pot on the table, and had begun eating before saying anything. It was best to wait until Karkat had some food in his mouth as to postpone the inevitable rant.

"Well, like I told you thith morning, I went to the library." Sollux began.

"Fuck me sideways this is fucking delicious." Karkat muttered, he looked up, "take those damn glasses off. I want to be able to look you in the eye when I begin my fucking gloat-fest."

Sollux grudgingly pulled his sunglasses off, and dropped them onto the table. He held Karkat's gaze with furrowed eyebrows. "Happy now?"

Karkat licked his spoon clean, "very much so. Now, I'm guessing that your library excursion didn't take all this time, did it?"

Sollux hesitated before answering, "no. It didn't."

"Mmm-hm. Thought not. So, where did you and Eridan go?" Karkat smirked.  
"There'th no uthe lying to you, ith there?"

Karkat shook his head, his spoon full of pastry and poised next to his face, "nope. So spill it."

"We were both hungry, tho we dethided to get food. I got him to pay for all of it, including your caketh. Then I went to dad'th, to vithit Mituna. Then I came home. Thatithfied?"

Karkat nodded, "yeah, I'm fucking ecstatic, can't you see how fucking delirious I am?" He leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly pissed off. "I do have one question though. Why didn't you fucking answer your phone once?"

Sollux gave Karkat a confused look, he hadn't heard his phone go off once all day, so he pulled his phone out of his bag. He had 7 missed calls, and 15 very angry text messages that held a wide variety of curses and insults.

He looked guiltily at his best friend, "thorry KK. I didn't turn the volume on after going to the library."

Gamzee strolled casually into the kitchen, and stood next to Karkat, "hey best friends, is everyone feeling the motherfucking good vibes floating around?" He had applied his strange makeup at some point during the day.

Karkat lifted the almost empty box above his head, "a peace offering, courtesy of our friend here."

Gamzee smiled and lifted a single profiterole out, "peace is the best motherfucking type of offering, brother." He walked over to the fridge, and opened it. He then balanced the cake on top of a milk carton. "I want to remember this beautiful, motherfucking offering of the peaceful kind forever."  
Sollux pulled a face, he never knew how to respond to Gamzee when he acted like this.

Karkat put the box back on the table in front of him, "now. What did I say would happen when you returned? I believe it was something about gloating?"

"Something about teaching dogs not to shit anywhere they motherfucking like, and rubbing their faces in their messy leavings." Gamzee added, his head inside the fridge for no apparent reason.

"Fucking right you are." Karkat folded his arms. "You were warned, Sollux. I told you about the shit-storm you would invoke when you went out with Eridan. Fucking prepare yourself for the wrath I'm about to extend to you." Karkat stood up, and walked to Sollux's side.

"I fucking told you that you enjoyed his fucking company. You both had fun! That was why you continued the whole goddamn act of pissing eachother off!" Karkat exclaimed smugly.

Sollux felt himself beginning to get angry, but he saw his phone light up on the table next to him. He thought he recognised the number.

"Thith ithn't over, KK." Sollux snarled, standing up and walking out of the room.  
"Go to her, Sollux! She needs you!" Karkat dramatically called after him.

When Sollux was about half way up the stairs, when he heard Karkat again. He had followed Sollux when he left and was now at the foot of the steps, "hey Sollux, we're still friends right?" He smirked innocently.

"Fuck off, KK." Sollux grinned. He couldn't stay mad at his best friend, even if he was being a prick.

Sollux closed the door to his bedroom, and sat down on his messy bed. He contemplated not reading the text today, still feeling a little sore from Karkat's comments, but he wanted to see what Eridan had messaged him.  
He decided to read the text.


	15. Neighbours

Eridan had barely finished making himself a cup of coffee when he heard a knock at the door. He sighed, and set down his cup on the kitchen cabinet, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Alright, alright. I'm comin'!" Eridan yelled as he approached his front door, but before he could step away after unlocking it, it was flung open.

"Hey Eridan! Guess who invited their friends over for some LARPing!" A tall woman marched into the house, her nose pointed at the ceiling. As she passed Eridan she ran a hand through her long, choppy, black hair, flicking it in his face.

Eridan scrunched up his nose, "how _did_ you know I was home, Vris?" He asked, he was annoyed that his door had been left open. He glared at his guest as he slammed the door shut, then followed her into the kitchen.

Vriska dumped the two bags she was carrying onto the floor as she walked, she picked up Eridan's cup of coffee and drank from it, "Ugh, Eridan, you know I don't take cream in my coffee! Jeez, learn how to treat a guest!" She dumped the rest of the mug's contents into the sink.

"Vris, I made that for myself." Eridan said calmly, placing his hands on the kitchen unit either side of her, trying to look a little intimidating.

Vriska smiled slyly, "whoops. Well, let's be honest, I did you a favour, you wouldn't drink something someone else had put their mouth on. So pouring it away was the only viable option after my taste test, was it not?"  
Eridan held her gaze. She was very pretty, but had a cruel look about her, she always seemed to be sneering. Her blue eyeshadow and lipstick matched her brilliantly cerulean eyes.

"Vris, it would've taken me less than a minute to make you your own coffee, why drink mine?" Eridan said through gritted teeth.

"Because, my dear, it's so much more satisfying to drink yours first!" She said gleefully.

They stared at eachother, almost nose-to-nose. That is, until Vriska pouted, and made little kissing noises, and Eridan pulled himself away grimacing.

"Ugh, I'd rather not." Eridan muttered, "want a coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee, black, two sugars." Vriska flashed her pearly white teeth at him and fluttered her eyelashes, "cheers."

Eridan turned the kettle on, and began spooning coffee granules and sugar into two mugs. "So how did you know I was home?"

"Oh, you know me Eridan! I always seem to look out my window at the right moment. I saw you with a little friend, and when he didn't come in, I invited myself and the gang round!" Vriska watched Eridan collect a little carton of cream from the fridge, pour a small amount into one mug, then return it.  
Eridan's house was situated between two apartment buildings, which were both a story higher than his own home. His house had two floors, with one set of stairs

Both of the neighbouring apartment buildings were identical, they were both made up of three, single-floor apartments.

"Hmm. Well you do seem to have a knack for knowin' the right moment to spy on me."

"It's a gift!" Vriska smiled again. 

The kettle finished boiling, and Eridan stirred the coffees, handing one to Vriska.

They stood together in the quaint kitchen, drinking while they waited for their other guests to arrive.

"So, what time will they be here?" Eridan asked, glancing up from his cup.

"Well, I told them to head over as soon as I saw your guest leave. So they should be here soon, but you know them, they have their reasons for being so slow." Vriska shrugged, she set her mug down, "oh, check this out!"

She grabbed the biggest bag that she had brought over and opened it; carefully lifting out a beautiful and long dress made out of thick, glossy, black fabric, and trimmed with blue ribbon and lace. It was definitely pirate-inspired, this made even more evident by the black captain hat decorated with a rather large blue feather. 

"Sexy, huh?" She said proudly, looking up at Eridan with gleaming eyes. "And have a look at these!" From the second bag she produced a pair of shiny, black, thigh-high boots.

"I'll admit, that's a pretty gorgeous outfit." Eridan admired the perfect craftsmanship, "good job."

"Why, thank you!" Vriska said playfully, gathering the clothing up gently into her arms, "now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get dressed." She marched off, her nose once again in the air.

Eridan crossed his arms, and watched her walk off to whatever room she decided to get dressed in.

He cleaned the units with an anti-bacterial wipe while he waited for her to return. 

There was a loud rapping at his front door. 

"And so it begins." Eridan muttered, and he went to let his newest guests in.  
At least this time Eridan was able to open the door properly without having someone shove past him.

There, stood on the pavement in front of his steps, was a pair of people in full LARP-gear. A young man sat in a wheelchair, wearing a Peter-Pan inspired costume, and next to him stood a young, blind woman, wearing a red and turquoise ensemble. She had been hitting the door with her seeing-eye stick from the pavement.

The woman smacked Eridan in the legs with her stick, "SHIT! TEREZI THAT'S MY LEG!"

"SORRY ERIDAN! DIDN'T _SEE_ YOU THERE!" She shrieked, trying not to laugh.

Eridan grunted and rubbed the sore patch. He walked down the steps, and stood behind the boy in the wheelchair, gripping the handles. "Go on Terezi, you go first." He said bitterly.

She cackled, and tapped her way to the steps, walking up them slowly.

"Uhh, sorry." Came a small voice below him.

Eridan looked down, "sorry? What for, Tav?"

Tavros looked up with large, dark eyes, "for intruding, I, uhh, and... Because you have to... Help me." He looked away.

"If you want to feel guilty, go tell all this to Vris. She's the one imposin'." Eridan wheeled Tavros around, so that he was able to walk backwards up the few stairs, while pulling Tavros with him.

"Oh, uhh, I have some exciting news. I might be getting some physiotherapy, uhh, the doctors, think that I might be able to walk again, if I get some special leg braces." Tavros looked up, in his own passive way, he seemed very excited to share this news.

"That's fuckin' amazin', Tav, congratulations." Eridan grunted as he pulled, "so, when do you get these robot legs?"

Tavros gave a smile, "well, it's, uhh, not set in stone, yet. But, I'll be seeing another couple of doctors first, but, uhh, soon. Hopefully."

"HEY ERIDAN, VRISKA'S IN THE GARDEN! BRING TAVROS!" Shouted an excited Terezi.

Eridan flinched at the volume the girl was screaming at, "for fuck's sake Terezi! You're blind, not fuckin' deaf! Stop shoutin'!" Eridan scolded.

He watched Terezi walk, and Tavros wheel himself to the kitchen, and out the door that lead to the garden. He went upstairs to his bedroom, grabbed a large sketchbook, and some pencils, then joined the trio in his beautiful garden.  
The garden was one of the main reasons that those three came round. The apartments didn't have any grassy areas, and they couldn't do their LARP activities in public places. So Vriska asked for the use of Eridan's garden when he moved in a few months ago.

He had agreed to allow them to do their activities, and in return, he was able to get a lot of life-drawing done for his art class. It was very beneficial for him to be able to sketch people like this, without having to interact with strangers. Also, their costumes provided him with experience in drawing different fabrics and clothing, which was all good practice.

Eridan sat down on a garden chair, his sketchbook open to a new, blank page. He watched the way that the three interacted, and began to draw. 

By the time they had finally finished role-playing, the sun was setting. Eridan rubbed his tired eyes, and set down his pencils, he had gotten a lot done today. He brought his sketchbook and pencils into the house.

Eridan helped Tavros and Terezi leave, and after they began to make their way to their respective homes, he turned his attention to Vriska.

She was still wearing that fantastic outfit; it clung to her body in all the right places, and if Eridan wasn't gay, and didn't know that she was a bitch, he might've thought that she looked attractive.

"Have _fun_ , Vris?"

"Yes indeed. I got to show off my new outfit to people that recognise true genius, and I also heard that Terezi nearly broke your leg." She grinned.

"Fuckin' hilarious. So when's your next meet-up?" Eridan asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache starting.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep an eye out for when you're free!" Vriska waved as she walked out the door, and Eridan closed and locked it behind her. He leant against it, feeling thoroughly exhausted again. 

"Bloody hell. That was too tirin'." He murmured. Eridan returned to the living room, and dropped to the couch, after a while, he took his phone out of his pocket and began writing a text.


	16. The Text

Eridan hoped that he didn't seem needy by texting Sollux first, but the tiniest part of him just wanted to hear from that fool. He typed and retyped his message, hoping to sound as casual and aloof as possible.

He considered using his old typing style, after all, he still used it whenever he sent a message to Feferi. Eridan quickly decided against this, he didn't want to seem too friendly... Or did he? He groaned aloud; annoyed at his own indecisiveness, and the fact that he felt as nervous and insecure as a teenage girl after her first date.

"Wwhat the fuck am I supposed to say!?" He shouted into the emptiness of his home. No answer came, and the silence only seemed to judge him.

Finally, after staring at the small screen for what had felt like an eternity, Eridan gave up and just hit the 'send' button. He felt his stomach come alive with regret and foolishness, but he didn't care anymore.

He rested his head against a cushion on his couch, and closed his eyes, awaiting a response he was sure would never come.  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
Sollux read the text, he felt as though it was a little short to have come from such a verbal person as Eridan Ampora, and it was because of this he felt as though it was very forced. Eridan was probably holding back.

**'hey sollux today was nice hope mituna enjoyed his puddin'**

Before doing anything else, Sollux saved the number to his contact list. 

Sollux felt a little guilty. He thought about how much he had hated Eridan at the beginning of the week, and how he had delighted in destroying the so-called 'sanctuary' of the other man. Sollux considered the fact that if anyone had told him five years ago that he would be having dinner with Eridan Ampora, willingly, he would have laughed until he had asphyxiated. 

So why was it that he found himself so happy that Eridan had gotten in contact? Why was it that he was actually smiling?

Sollux fought the urge to text with his usual quirk, and as he text back, he wondered whether this was a one-off event, or whether they could ever end up becoming actual friends.  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
Eridan jumped, he had been drifting into the darkness of half-sleep when his phone buzzed loudly in his hand.  
He quickly began reading.  
 **'hey. mituna enjoyed the cakes, thanks for the food today.'**

He quickly replied.  
 **'no problem remember that this was payment for not comin back to my library'**

**'what if i want to come back? what if i told you that you've made me realise how nice the library can be?'**

**'you cannot be fuckin serious'**

Sollux smiled as he read this.  
 **'well, maybe something can change my mind. maybe I can be tempted to not come back. afterall, that burger was really good today.'**

Eridan felt his throat tighten, was Sollux saying what he thought he was saying?  
 **'sollux do you want to get more food'**

Sollux grinned.  
 **'why not. keep me fed and i might just stay away'**

**'deal you tell me where an when'**

Sollux and Eridan both sat in their respective homes not knowing what had just happened. The week had started with them both feeling nothing but hatred and contempt for one another, and now they were acting like schoolgirls, arranging to meet up for dinner.

The last message and the possibilities hung around them both. Sollux thought carefully about what he would write next.  
 **'if you have next friday free we can hang out then?'**

Eridan licked his lips, this was actually happening.  
 **'i dont work or have class on fridays so sure why not'**

**'alright then. i know where to find you if plans change.'**  
Sollux left it at that. He lay down on his bed, and happily nodded off.  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
Eridan sat awake for a long time after he received the last text. His mind reeled with possible implications, and even though he knew he was reading too much into it, one thing was for sure.

Sollux had enjoyed himself, and Sollux had been the one to instigate a second meeting. 

They had spent so long fighting eachother, despising eachother, and now they were arranging to hang out with eachother.

There was only one person Eridan could think of talking to right now. He began frantically texting once again.

**'me an sollux went out for food today an now he wants to go out again next fuckin friday'**

Eridan stood up and began pacing around his living room, waiting for the reply. The feeling of exhaustion had been replaced by a squirming mix of excitement and trepidation.

After the eleventh time checking his phone, he finally felt it vibrate in his hands. He pressed the answer button, but before he could even get his first word out, his ear was filled with a high-pitched voice.

"EEEEERIDAN! THAT'S FINTASTIC NEWS! I CAN-KNOT BE-REEF THAT! WATER YOU PLANNING ON DOING!?"  
Although nearly deafened, Eridan loved how excited his best friend was for him, and he grinned at the amount of fish-puns she had made.

"Fef, clam down, it's only a meal... It's nothing too sea-rious," Eridan made sure to return the gesture of making fishy-puns for Feferi, as they were her favourite. So, he told her all about what had happened that day. 

"so wwhat do you think, Fef? Does it sound like he actually had fun? Or is he just tryin' to be nice?" Eridan fiddled with his scarf, a little paranoid about whether or not the other man was just humouring him.

"It shore sounds like he had a whale of a time with you! Oh, Eridan! I'm so happy for you, it's nice to hear that you're both finally getting along so swimmingly!" Feferi giggled.

Eridan stopped pacing, and sat down once again. "I don't know, Fef. I just... I dunno."

"Don't worry Eri, weeee'll hang out soon, and we can talk all glubbing day!"

"Alright, I'll sea you soon. Bye Fef."

"Byeee Eeeeri!" Feferi hung up, and left Eridan to his silence.

Eridan jumped up and began pacing around the room again, thoughts of Sollux still swirling around his head. After groaning, and running his hands through his hair, he stormed upstairs to his bedroom. He stripped off, and flopped onto his bed wearing only his boxers.

He was asleep before his head even touched the pillow.


	17. Red and Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for slightly distressing events in a dream

_Sollux knew he was dreaming; he felt completely weightless, yet his arms and feet were cumbersome and slow to move._

_He stared out into the dense fog of his subconscious, looking for any sign of movement. After seeing nothing but the cold white blur, he turned around and came face-to-face with a person who had been stood behind him._

_The other person was slightly shorter than him, and watched with wide, violet eyes._

_They remained this way, their noses almost touching, for what could have been seconds or a millennia._

_Sollux held Eridan's gaze. All Sollux wanted was to say the name of violet-eyed man, just the name, but the word fluttered inside of his throat, and thought it tried desperately to escape through his mouth, it could not._

_The pair remained silent. Staring. Eyes transfixed._

_After what felt like an eternity had finally passed, Eridan smiled, and raised himself up on his tip-toes. With their lips only millimetres apart, Sollux did the only thing he could physically make his body do. He closed his eyes and awaited the kiss._

_Instead, he was thrown to the ground, and could feel a pain in his jaw. He looked up and saw those same violet eyes glaring down at him, and instead of tenderness or even impassiveness, they held only a burning hatred._

_The dream was no longer a blur of only white, as Sollux could now make out a pale blue sky. The fog around them had morphed into a crowd of faceless, jeering people, and Sollux could hear a dull, rushing sound coming from them. He recognised this scene._

_He stood up slowly, his limbs feeling as if they were filled with lead. Sollux remembered this happening often, it was a common occurrence when they were both about sixteen years old._

_Sollux looked at himself, he was dripping red from somewhere on his face. Tiny red spatters appeared on the floor, and onto his own upturned hands. He forced his head to turn towards Eridan._

_He saw that Eridan was also bleeding._

_There were thin trails of red making their way down his face, a lot from his hairline, and more from his lips and nose. The blood had pooled on his blue scarf._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

_Sollux's world flew around him, spinning wildly, and making him feel sick._

_When the dream finally stopped moving, Sollux was no longer haunted by violet eyes. He wished he was, he wished more than anything that he could go back and not see this._

_The world was filled with a warm glow. A soft hand touched his cheek, and he was helpless against it, Sollux stared up into the face of the woman he had loved so much. His beautiful Aradia. He couldn't move as a flurry of wonderfully happy memories were thrust into his field of vision._

_Sollux knew what was coming next. He tried to take control, but failed, and was forced to watch everything. A tiny velvet box, a door handle, a light-switch._

_Visions of her red painted lips, and Equius's blue eyes. Visions of them fucking in the bed that Sollux had shared with Aradia on so many occasions._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

_The world began spinning once again, visions and memories ripping Sollux into pieces, causing him nothing but excruciating pain. He wished for something to stop this, anything but this, anything!_

_Whatever God Sollux had been praying to, must have heard, as Aradia vanished from the dream. Unfortunately, the God must not have been a merciful one, as Sollux was forced to relive a much worse memory._

_Please, God, not this! Give me Aradia! Give me Eridan! I changed my mind! Please, I won't complain about the others, please! Not this! NOT THIS!_

_PLEASE!_

_Please!_

_Please._

_The sky in Sollux's dream was so blue. So very blue. He didn't want to, he tried to keep his head still, but he turned, and looked at his twin brother buckled into the seat next to him. Sollux felt his face being pulled into a wide grin that matched his brother's._

_Sollux was made to look at the person sat in the seat in front of his brother. He looked at his mother's face in the car mirror; she was so beautiful, and her eyes were so blue. She caught him staring, and smiled happily at him._

_Please don't smile at me. Please don't look at me. Please._

_He wanted to warn them, he needed to warn them, but his words were imprisoned behind his teeth._

_The car they were all sat in suddenly jolted, and Sollux watched the side his brother and mother was sat on crumple inwards. No sounds or words could escape his lips, all he could do was helplessly reach out a tiny hand at his twin._

_The car rolled, and so did the sky. It was above them, then underneath them, again and again, then the car stopped. Their car was upside down. The blue sky was again beneath them, and thin lines of red streaked through it. Thin red lines from where his mother was sat._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

_Her blue eyes stared into the car mirror, there were red splatters on her face. And everywhere._

_Oh God, make it stop._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

_A shrill noise began, and the only thing that filled his vision were red and blue flashing lights._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

_Sollux was dragged from the wreckage, and told not to look by the shadowy fog-figure that was carrying him so gently._

_But Sollux did._

_The sky was just so damn blue, and the tarmac was so fucking red._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

Sollux woke up screaming, but nothing except a quiet hiss escaped his mouth. He drew his knees up to his chest, and cried into the darkness. He hated that dream. The beginning was different, but the end was always the same. 

He missed her so much.

He held his mouth closed tightly, and kneaded his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to erase the images left behind by the dream. They remained for a while though, burnt into his eyelids like a bright light's ghost.

Sollux knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the night.


	18. The Phonecall

Eridan trudged back to his bedroom with a cold glass of water. As he set his drink down next to his phone on the bedside table, he glanced at the sleeping figure in his bed, and felt his chest swell with love.  
-.-.-.-.-.-  
His guest had let themselves into Eridan's house with their key, and had woken him up from his nap by clattering loudly around the kitchen. When he had gone to investigate the noise, Eridan had found his guest sitting contently at the table with a steaming mug of tea and an overflowing bowl of cereal.

"I always seem to run out a cereal whenever you come round, an you always seem to eat more when I'm sleepin'," Eridan had remarked as he leant against his kitchen doorframe.

Feferi had grinned cheesily back at him, and spoke in very broken sentences while shovelling food into her mouth. "Whale, I dolphinately had to come round, Eridan!" She frantically chewed a mouthful, "after all, we just had to glub all about today!" As she ate another heaping spoonful of cereal, Eridan sat down opposite her, "Bouy, I shore am hungry after all the carp I put up with at work today." She took a swig of tea to help her swallow her food better, and Eridan waited patiently with a small smile playing on his lips. "Hooo! This hits the spot! Oh, sorry about finishing another box of cereal..." Feferi looked up guiltily, but as usual, Eridan could never get angry at that sweet little face.

"Don't worry about it Fef. Tell me all about work. An then we can just fuckin' eat cereal an glub all about whatever you want."

And that's exactly what they did. The pair stayed up for hours sharing many long, and excited conversations with eachother, mostly discussing work, class, and plans to meet up with a certain Sollux Captor next week.

At one point during the conversation, Feferi had said, "you always liked him, didn't you?"

Eridan spluttered, he was unable to control his stutter because he was so nervous and talking so fast, "wwhat!? You're kiddin'?! _Him_!? I Wwouldn't... I didn't... I!" He looked his best friend in the eye, and knew that there was no way he could possibly lie to her. "I... Yeah. I did. But that wwas a long time ago, Fef. People change, an wwe hated eachother. Nothin's gunna happen evven wwhen wwe do meet up again... Wwe'll most likely just become strangers, to be honest." Eridan swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry Fef."

Feferi smiled knowingly, and her eyes did not betray the genuine happiness she was conveying, "oh Eridan, you silly squid, I always knew! You told me yourself more than once back then, whenever you got drunk you'd carp on and on about him! And I think we both liked him at the same time for quite a while."

The two best friends sat under a blanket together on opposite ends of a couch, Eridan brought a corner of the blanket up to his face and chewed on it, "wwhy did you guys break up? You nevver completely explained it."

Feferi sighed, and fiddled with her long, curly hair. "We were too different, to be honest, and it didn't always feel like he was fully into the relationship. It always felt like he was just uncomfortable to be himself, so we mutually agreed to go our own ways! Then he got with Aradia... What's wrong?" Feferi looked very concerned at Eridan's current facial expression. He looked absolutely mortified, and very close to tears.

"I'm sorry Fef, but I just blame myself for alwways gettin' into fights with him! Evven if he _wwas_ a prick to me back then!" Eridan chewed a little more vigorously, "and, Aradia! Did you knoww wwhat she did to him!?"

This lead to another very long discussion about infidelity and the poor Sollux Captor.

They had ended up chatting the night away; sitting together, wearing pyjamas, and drinking large mugs of hot chocolate.

Finally, they had gone to bed, sleeping in the same position that they had done since they were small children. Feferi and her pillows at the top end of bed, Eridan and his pillows at the bottom end. Even if they had 2 beds available, they both would rather 'top-and-tail' like this, because they took so much comfort in eachothers company.  
-.-.-.-.-.-  
Eridan was now trying to sneak back into his end of the bed, he didn't want to wake Feferi up, but one of her feet was lying on top of his pillow, and the other was hanging out of the bed next to where he was stood. Eridan pulled back the quilt and tried to sneak under it, he always found it hilarious that the graceful and well-presented Feferi would sleep in a star-fish position and steal any blankets she could.

Just as Eridan had eased himself half-way into bed, and was feeling a bit smug, his phone lit up the room and vibrated angrily on his bedside table.

"Fuckin' hell!" Eridan shouted. He leapt over to the table, grabbed his mobile, and ran from the room. He heard Feferi snort herself awake and mumble, "wassat?" as he left.

_'Who the fuck is calling at four in the morning!?'_ Eridan fumed to himself. He looked at the screen to see who this inconsiderate miscreant was.

It was Sollux Captor.

Although still slightly annoyed, his curiosity was piqued. He pressed the answer button while making his way downstairs to the living room.

"Hello? Sollux?"

Eridan listened intently, he could hear the softest hitching breaths on the other end, and this was making him very concerned. "Sollux? Wwhat's wwrong?" Eridan was too tired to bother even trying to control his stutter.

"... I... I jutht... KK'th not here and I jutht..." Sollux sounded so quiet, and so tiny.

"Wwhat's happened? Are you okay?" Eridan gripped the phone against his head, trying to hear Sollux better.

"I'm thorry Eridan... Your number... fucking... It wath the only one... I'm thorry... I'll go."

"Wwait! Don't you even _think_ about hangin' up on me, Sollux Captor!" Eridan bellowed down the phone, "noww you wwill tell me wwhat the fuck happened to you!"

When Sollux didn't respond, Eridan thought that maybe he had scared the other man away by shouting so loudly.

"I can't... I'm jutht... In a pretty bad plathe right now." Sollux admitted, having trouble forming what he wanted to say. He was currently lying on his side in his own bed, with his knees brought up to his tear-streaked face, and the quilt over his head. After he had woken up, Sollux had tried ringing Karkat, but he was working nights and had his phone turned off. Sollux had been so desperate that he had phoned the last person that had texted him. Eridan Ampora.

"Wwell, tell me about it? Or you can come here, or I could evven come round yours if you need me to?" Eridan offered.

"No. I'm a meth right now. I jutht... Need thomeone to talk to me... Pleathe, keep talking tho I don't have to think about... Anything." Sollux's voice cracked as he spoke.

Eridan's mind had never felt so blank. He honestly couldn't think of a single thing to say, so he stammered and flapped, and finally decided to talk about what had pissed him off earlier. "I, uhh, had the fuckin' wworst day after you wwalked me home." He waited only a moment for a response that wouldn't come, before continuing, "yeah, Vvris, you remember Vvris from highschool? Wwell she came round, an brought her LARP buddies with her. I mean, sure I used to join in, but that wwas wwhen wwe wwere in middle school together... An I was young. Noww she comes round wwhenevver she wwants, an invvites her bloody friends."

Eridan was very conscious of how he was rambling, but continued for Sollux's sake, "wwell, they use my garden to play around in, an I draw them for my art class. I get some good lifestyle poses, so it's kinda wworth it... I guess."

Sollux's soft snuffling assured Eridan that he was still listening.

"But she really pisses me off, you knoww? She wwas nevver vvery considerate... The bitch threww my coffee awway today..." Eridan's speech trailed off as he looked around his living room for inspiration for what to talk about next, he was so tired that could barely keep his mind focused. His eyes kept returning to the large glowing tank in the corner and finally it clicked. "hey Sollux, did you knoww that I'm allergic to animal fur?" He got up from the couch and walked over to the fish tank, stroking a hand down the glass. "It wwas a nightmare for my dad to find me a 'cool' pet. But then he gave up, and got me a goldfish one day, an I'vve lovved sea animals evver since. You should come round some time an see my tank, it takes up half a wwall of my livvin' room, an it's fuckin' incredible."

The sniffing noises were becoming less frequent.

"I'vve collected a fuckin' bunch a fishes and stuff, but my favvourite is my seahorse." Eridan stared into the tank, and watched his seahorse swimming inside the water near some coral. It was stark white, and stood out quite nicely against all the other wonderfully colourful fish. "He's a zebra-snout. He's really wwhite, but he has brown speckles on his nose, wwhich are really cute because he looks like he's got freckles! You knoww, the proper name for him is hippocampus barbouri... I wwanted to get a couple a different seahorses, but they're so hard to maintain. And They're bloody expensivve."

He was trying very hard not to talk too much, but he really did love talking about his pets, and was very passionate about them.

"Hey Sol, I think that you're a dolphin sorta guy." Eridan said, trying to goad Sollux into joining the conversation.

"A dolphin?" Sollux asked quietly.

"Yeah, I bet you think they're fuckin' majestic. I bet you'd put a saddle on it, an ride the fucker around." Eridan prodded.

"Are you trying to pith me off, Eridan?" Sollux laughed weakly, "Dolphinth are thuper gay."

Eridan grinned, he had finally gotten Sollux to sound a little like his usual self, "you can't be judgemental like that, Sol. Wwasn't it you that said you don't care wwhat's in someones pants? Wwhy can't your dolphin love other dolphins wwithout your fuckin' judgement?"

"True, true. Dolphinth can love whatever they want, but it doethn't change the fact that riding a thaddled dolphin would be really fucking gay." Sollux replied.

"You wwouldn't care. You wwould still fuckin' do it."

Sollux's voice was much stronger now, "what!? Why am I dithcuthing the thexuality of fucking _dolphinth_ with you anyway!? I don't even _like_ them!" He shouted, "and another thing, if either of uth ith going to _'thaddle up'_ an animal, it'll be you and a thtupid theahorthe!"

Eridan hadn't been expecting that, but he flowed with it, "I wwould. I really wwould. And I wwould look glorious on a giant seahorse, Sol. You don't evven knoww."

There was a heartbeat of silence, neither one knowing what to say, then they both began laughing loudly. Images of Eridan sat atop a snow-white seahorse, his hair long and flowing, filled both of their heads.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Eridan suppressed his laughter for long enough to ask, "you alright, Sollux? Feelin' a bit better noww that you'vve discovvered my secret callin' a bein' a seahorse tamer?"

Sollux continued to snigger for a little bit before responding, "you know what, I actually do. Thankth for talking tho much shit, Eridan."

"No problem." Eridan leant against a wall, then decided to just go for it, "you knoww, if you're not busy tomorroww, wwe could go out for a drink, after I finish wwork? Talk more shit?"

It may have been because he was feeling so grateful, but Sollux couldn't think of anything he'd rather do. "Yeah, okay. I finish work at 5, tho any time after that'th good for me."

Eridan felt ecstatic, "I finish at 4, so... Yeah. Wwhenevver you wwant." He tried to sound as casual as possible.

"I'll come collect you at thix then?"

"sure. See you then."

"Later, Eridan."

"Bye, Sollux."

Eridan pressed the end call button, and stood there staring at his phone, completely bewildered. Then he laughed out loud, and ran a hand through his messy bed head. He had been so worried that he and Sollux weren't going to stay in contact after today, and now they were going out for drinks! As Eridan climbed the stairs back to his bedroom, only one thought was haunting him.

What should he wear?  
-.-  
Sollux lay in bed, his chest felt a little less tight, and his mind was much clearer. He never thought that Eridan would have been so good at keeping him distracted from the thinking about the accident. He plugged the charger wire into his phone, and closed his eyes. While thoughts of going out for drinks filled his head, he drifted into a very light, dreamless sleep.


	19. Work Part 1

Eridan's eyes snapped open as his alarm began blaring. It was 8AM, and he needed to be at work for 11 o'clock.

He groaned and covered his ears with his pillow, trying in vain to block out the treacherous noise-maker. Eridan didn't really have very long to have to ponder about how life was unfair, because Feferi began kicking him out of bed while screaming, "knock that glubbing carp off, Eridan!"

"OW! Fuck Fef! Stop!" Eridan scrambled out of bed and landed on the floor, and then promptly jumped up and turned off his phones alarm. He glared at Feferi, who was staring right back at him with her eyes narrowed.

She curled herself into a ball, and wrapped herself up completely in the quilt. Eridan heard her muttering from the nest she'd made herself, "I'm going to go back to sleep Eridan, and when you're finished with your morning routine, I'll get up. Okay?"

"Isn't that the way we usually do things?" Eridan smirked. He ducked as a pillow came flying at his head, Feferi had surprisingly good aim for someone who's vision was obscured by a thick quilt. "Alright, I'll be out in a hour or so."

He heard Feferi laugh disbelievingly, as he left the room. Eridan decided to use his spare bathroom downstairs to have his shower, as he didn't want to keep Feferi awake by using his regular one that was attached to his bedroom.

This shower room was much smaller, it held a sink, a toilet and a small standing-shower. Eridan sulked as he walked in, he wished that he could enjoy the large, luxurious bathroom upstairs. He missed his claw-footed bath tub, his shelves of products, and his much wider walk-in shower. His personal bathroom was one of the biggest rooms in his house, and rightly so, because he spent a lot of his day in there.

Eridan turned the taps, and listened to the hiss and patter of the water. As he waited for the water to warm up, he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to double-take as he saw the mess his hair was in.

He pulled faces at himself, poking his tongue out and scrunching up his nose, then puffing his cheeks out and going cross-eyed. After exhausting himself of all the ways he knew how to make himself look stupid, he relaxed his face and stared at his reflection.

There were shadowy bags under his eyes. Eridan frowned, this was all Sollux's fault! His frown softened, he remembered how scared Sollux had sounded when they had spoken last night.

Steam began to creep out of the shower, and Eridan shook his head free of the dark thoughts that had begun clawing their way into his mind. He freed himself of the baggy shirt and jogging bottoms he'd been wearing to sleep in, and scrutinised his body in the small, mounted mirror.

Eridan was slimly built, but he had a muscle definition that had taken years to build up. He had worked very hard to look the way he did, and felt nothing but pride for himself.

Feeling a little better, Eridan stepped into the stream of water, and began washing away all of his tensions. He was very pleased with himself when he saw that he had remembered to put some of his favourite shampoo and conditioner into this bathroom. Eridan's favourite hair washing products smelled like coconut this month, last month he had loved tangerine, and he'd probably have another new favourite flavour in a few weeks time.

Eridan began following his very strict shower routine. First he stood under the water to get his hair wet enough, then he scrubbed his hair with shampoo, washed it off, then repeated. He thought it was important to use shampoo twice, as he used hair products, and this way he was sure his hair was definitely clean. After this, he used conditioner, massaging it through his hair with his fingers. While he waited for the conditioner to _'do it's thing'_ he washed his body with a coconut exfoliating scrub, and washed everything off his hair and body all at once.

Eridan had followed this pattern for years, and took great comfort in the familiarity of it.

With the shower now turned off, Eridan stepped out onto the grey bathmat, and grabbed a towel off the back of the door. He dried himself as quickly as he could, then wrapped the wet towel around his waist; in his rush to shower, he had forgotten to grab any new clothes to wear. So he gathered up his things and trudged back upstairs to his room, where the only part of Feferi that was visible was her very long hair.

Eridan threw his old clothes into the laundry hamper in his bathroom, then returned to his room to scour his wardrobe for his work uniform. It wasn't hard to miss. With flared nostrils and thin lips, Eridan pulled the bright red shirt and shorts out and groaned, he understood that they were supposed to be a bright colour for visual reasons, but he really hated them. He closed the wardrobe doors, and walked a little closer to the bed, noting that he could no longer see Feferi's wild hair covering her pillow. He dropped the uniform on the railing frame at the end of his bed, and turned his back on the disgustingly bright outfit.

Suddenly he felt a sharp tug on his towel, and it fell from his hips leaving Eridan standing stark naked. "FUCK, FEF PACK IT IN!" He screamed, turning around to face his bed as he bent to grab his towel.

Feferi was still hiding under the quilt, only her arm was uncovered. It had snaked it's way through the bars of the bed-frame, and was now retreating quickly. Her giggles were muffled, "I'm sorry Eridan! I just, I couldn't kelp myself!" She squealed, finally sitting up. She had the quilt covering herself in the same way that Eridan was hiding beneath his towel.

They were sat on their bums, with their knees brought up, and both quilt and towel were wrapped firmly around the shoulders of the respective holders, covering anything below. Feferi's face was pink from giggling, and Eridan's face was a deep maroon, he glared at her.

"Wwhat the fuck, Fef!?"

"Oh, don't be such a grumpy gills!" Feferi giggled.

"I'm not bein' a grumpy gills, that scared the ever-lovin' shit out a me, Fef! I didn't knoww if you had your head covvered or not! Don't do that!" Eridan was flushed, and very embarrassed.

"Oh shush, Eridan. I didn't look. I wouldn't look." Feferi grinned, and finally got out of the bed.

Eridan mumbled incoherently, then said, "wwell, don't."

Feferi leant down next to Eridan, and ruffled his wet hair, "I'm sorry, I'll make us some breakfast. Sound good?"

Eridan narrowed his eyes, "You wwere gunna make breakfast anywway!"

"Eeeeeyup! But now, I'll make something other than cereal!" She stood up, and skipped out of the room.

Eridan pulled his head down into the towel-cocoon he was hiding in, and groaned. He didn't find that sort of joke funny, but Feferi always found it hilarious to embarrass him like that. After brooding for a minute, Eridan stood up, and kicked the bedroom door closed.

He pulled on some new boxers and socks, then dressed himself in his uniform. Grimacing as he did.

-.-

Feferi heard the hairdryer being turned on, and knew she had plenty of time to start cooking. She giggled to herself as she searched the fridge for something to cook.

-.-

Eridan had finished drying his hair when he could faintly smell bacon wafting upwards from the kitchen. He combed his hair and added a little hairspray, then decided that he was indeed hungry enough for breakfast.

He walked into the kitchen with a look of disdain spread across his face, "I hate not bein' able to do my hair properly." He muttered to Feferi as he sat down at the table.

"Eridan, you know you can't. It'll get messed up at work, and then you'll just get fished off." She brought the frying pan over the Eridan, and began transferring the bacon to a plate. "Look, let's have ourshellves a nice breakfast, okey dokey mr. Grumpy Gills?"

Eridan tried very hard not to smile at her chipper attitude. He helped himself to a few slices of bread and some bacon, as Feferi poured a glass of juice for each of them. When she sat down opposite and began fixing herself a bacon sandwich, Eridan spoke.

"Sollux rang me last night." He said, taking a bite of sandwich.

"What? When?"

"At around four. He was pretty fuckin' upset about somethin'." Eridan watched Feferi's face become very concerned.

"Oh, is he okay?"

Eridan waved his hand and nodded as he finished chewing a big bite of bacon, "Yeah, I talked to him, and he was okay by the end of it. We're actually goin' out for drinks tonight." Eridan refused to make eye contact with Feferi as he said this.

"Eridan! I'm so-" Feferi began, then she stopped, "Eridan. Eridan? Eridan!" She began waving her hands, and clicking her fingers, as Eridan pretended that the side of the juice carton was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

"Eridaaaan..!" Feferi said, her voice sounding like a warning.

He slowly looked up and met Feferi's eyes, "...Yes?"

"Eridan, this is amazing news! Why are you acting so fishy about it?" She asked, folding her arms.

"Because I don't want you to make it into a big deal, Fef. It's just a drink! Nothin' else!"

Feferi shrugged, "fine, but that's not a good attitude to have!" She grinned and began eating again. "So, have you thought about what you're going to wear?"

They ate as much as they could, chatting happily about anything that Eridan could distract Feferi with, until it was nearly time to go. Feferi got herself dressed as Eridan readied a change of clothes in a bag. Then they jostled eachother at the sink trying to brush their teeth.

Eridan locked the front door when they left, then checked, double-checked, and triple-checked it was locked.

Feferi insisted on going in her car rather than Eridan's, and he gave up arguing after he realised that they would be late if they didn't leave soon. So he sat in the passenger seat, with his own and Feferi's bags on his lap. As she climbed into the driving seat he scowled at her.

"Let's go!" Feferi squealed as she put the key in the ignition and drove the car away from the house.


	20. Work Part 2

As they pulled into an employee parking space, Eridan groaned and pressed his face against the car's passenger side window.

Feferi unbuckled her own seatbelt, then turned to face Eridan, "what's wrong, Eridan?" She asked gently.

He made an exasperated noise, "I'm just too tired to be dealin' with screamin' kids an their fuckin' families."

After leaning over and unbuckling Eridan's seatbelt, Feferi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "you don't have to do this you know. Your dad already gives you money, so it's not like you have to worry about rent or food!" She said sounding very chipper, "I'm shore your dad would be more than happy to hear that you'll work on the family business."

Eridan shrank away from his best friend's hand. When he was younger he had relished in the fact that his family was wealthy, he even looked down his nose at the other children believing that they were inferior. Fortunately, this attitude began to change as the years passed, and he began to realise that a lot of people actually looked down their noses at him _because_ of his wealth.

He turned to look at Feferi with sad eyes, she was the heiress of her own fortune, and also the only person he knew that could understand how he felt, but Feferi had embraced her future as she got older. Probably because her mother had somehow persuaded her a couple of years ago. Of course, this didn't stop Feferi from going to university to learn all about marine biology in the meantime.

Eridan shook his head in an attempt to clear it, "Fef, I'm doin' this and workin' here for me. You know that. I'll be fine once I get in, come on, let's go."

After locking the car, Feferi linked her arm with Eridan's; they walked together in silence until they reached the front doors. The smell of chlorine rushed over them, Feferi smiled widely as she took in a deep breath, "whale, I'm off. I'll sea you inside!" She grabbed her bag, which had been hanging off Eridan's arm, and waved excitedly as she pushed another set of doors open and disappeared behind them.

Eridan waved weakly back, then ran a hand over his face. He was much too tired to be working today.

Eridan walked numbly towards the door marked 'employees only', and made a bee-line straight for his locker. He stuffed his bag inside, and pressed his forehead against it, barely feeling the cool metal against his skin. After a moment of wallowing, he straightened up, put his game face on and got to work.

-.-

Eridan coolly surveyed his surroundings from his perch; beneath him were the people who were all his responsibility. His eyes swept over his domain, searching for the tell-tale signs that someone required his assistance. One particular group of teenage girls caught his attention; they had been clustered together for about 10 minutes, staring at him and giggling with each other.

There didn't appear to be anyone that needed him, but Eridan remained vigilant, keeping his eyes peeled for any distressing movements in the water.

After all, Eridan was a lifeguard at an indoor swimming centre, and he'd never allow anyone to drown on his watch.

He shifted position in his chair, trying to stop his lower extremities from becoming numb, and fiddled with the small whistle that hung around his neck.

Eridan jumped off his chair the second he saw someone thrashing around in the deepest end of the pool, his instincts took over as his head was filled with the high pitched screaming. He dived into the water and reached the person in a few seconds. The only thing he could think of was getting to the person in time.

He held the thrashing person close to him, and lifted their head out from under the water, then swam back to the edge of the pool with them still in his arms. Eridan looked at the person he had saved; she was a teenage girl wearing a pale yellow bikini, her long hair stuck to her skin. Eridan recognised her as one of the girls that had been gawking at him earlier. He helped her climb out of the pool, then he followed her. They stood together.

"Are you okay? Wwhat happened!?" Eridan asked loudly, his heart thudded in his chest.

The girl looked at him coyly, she glanced at her group of friends who were standing next to Eridan's high chair before answering, "oh, I... My leg! It seized up, the muscle... I just went under and couldn't swim!"

Eridan's eyes narrowed, "your leg?"

"Yes! It might've been a cramp, or something." She smiled sweetly.

Eridan lowered his voice and leant a little closer, "if your leg had cramped only seconds ago, how are you standing without any trouble now?" He held her wavering gaze sternly.

"I... Uhm... I..." She put her hands behind her back, and wouldn't make eye contact with him.

"You do NOT pretend to drown you stupid child. How DARE you _pretend to drown_." Eridan's voice was a harsh whisper, he resisted the urge to swear at her, "you an your little friends had better not try this again, or I swear I will NOT be as forgivin'. Get out a my sight. NOW." He watched her eyes widen and her mouth drop open dramatically, but she turned and ran to her friends. "An no runnin'!" Eridan shouted after her.

Soaking wet and thoroughly miserable, Eridan climbed back into his chair. He pulled his towel off the back of it, and began drying himself as much as he could, grumbling the entire time. His hair was now wet, and that pissed him off more than having to sit in his soggy clothes did.

"What was that a-boat, Eridan?"

Eridan looked down and saw Feferi by his side, "some kid was pretendin' to drown. I just don't even understand how that even happens, Fef."

Feferi spun around to look at the teenagers, who were glancing over their shoulders as they left. "What a dumb way to get a bouy's attention. They should have just tried _glubbing_ with you."

"Fuck that. I can't fuckin' stand these squealin' teenagers. They piss me off." Eridan turned his attention back to the pool.

Feferi giggled, "whale, I'm going to keep swimming until I get bored. Then I might go get something from the canteen... Then I'll probably swim some more!" She walked away, then dropped herself into the water. Eridan watched her for a few seconds as she began swimming, Feferi looked as if she was born to live in the water.

The day dragged on; and other than having to tell some kids to stop running, it was relatively event-free. Eridan thanked his lucky stars when 4 o'clock came around, and resisted the urge to skip to his locker to retrieve his bag. He locked himself in one of the employee changing cubicles; he removed his dry outfit from his bag, then peeled the wet clothes from his body. After throwing the wet uniform into the bag, he was finally able to put his dry clothes on; it was a simple combination of blue jeans and a black shirt, after all, he was going to have the next few hours to decide on what he could _really_ wear for the nights event.

When he finally got to the car, Feferi was wailing along to the radio, shaking her head as she drummed her hands on the steering wheel. As he sat down, Feferi turned the radio off, "hey Eridan! How was work?"

Eridan groaned loudly, "boring as hell. I just want to get home an have a shower."

"Again!? Oooo! Of course, you want to get nice and pretty for your daaate!" Feferi said smugly, starting the car. She didn't look at Eridan because she knew exactly what face he was pulling.

"It's not a fuckin' date, Fef." Eridan snapped, he folded his arms and pouted all the way home.

-.-

Eridan was thrilled to have been able to use his larger, personal bathroom where he enjoyed an extra long, steamy shower. The warm water and smell of coconut helped relax him, and the days stresses dissolved.

He wore only a pair of boxer shorts as he blow-dried his hair, and Feferi sat on his bed awaiting the inevitable two-dozen outfit changes that Eridan would demand critiquing for. Eridan spent nearly half an hour perfecting his hair, finally feeling comfortable and attractive again.

Getting dressed without messing up his hairstyle was something that Eridan had learned to perfect over the years, and something that he was quite proud of being able to do. His first outfit was a dark suit with a white shirt and black tie, his face dropped as Feferi gave him a thumbs down.

"If you're so shore it's knot a date, you can't wear something so... Fancy. You'll be sending the wrong signals."

Eridan pulled a sour face at Feferi as he walked back into the bathroom to try on another outfit. 10 minutes later, Eridan emerged wearing a navy blue t-shirt and black jeans. "Too relaxed?" He asked.

"Uhh, not relaxed." Feferi's nostrils flared. "You look like a tramp."

"Thanks a whole fuckin' lot, Fef." Eridan kicked his laundry basket as he began to mope. He just wanted to look nice, without looking as if he was trying too hard. This was getting too frustrating for him.

Eridan looked at all of the clothes he had pulled into the bathroom to pick from, he decided that he would throw caution to the wind. He finally found something, and almost crossed his fingers as he got dressed.

"So? Wwhat do you think?" Eridan stuttered as he opened the bathroom door.

Feferi's face lit up, "excellent! Eridan you look fintastic!" She jumped off the bed and pulled him into a tight hug. Eridan pulled away from her and looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing bright white, skinny-fit jeans, with a lilac and grey argyle sweater, a short purple scarf and a pair of white leather shoes.

"Whale, I better get going before your date gets here!" Feferi ran away before Eridan could say or do anything. He heard the front door slam shut, and sighed.

"It's not a fuckin' date." He muttered.

-.-.-

Eridan sat in his living room, nervously watching the clock. He grew more and more anxious as the seconds ticked past.

A loud knock at the door made Eridan jump up, and wring his hands. He double-checked that he had his phone, keys and wallet in his tight pockets, then opened the front door.

Sollux stood on the doorstep, looking up at Eridan.

"Tho, ready to go?"


	21. Sollux: Getting Ready

The day had dragged on for what felt like an eternity. Sollux worked in a large computer retail store, and he hated every moment he was there. Most of his work days were spent helping some of the most clueless, ignorant bastards buy systems that would cost more money than Sollux would earn in a month.

The thing that Sollux enjoyed most about any day he had to go to this soul destroying shit-hole, was the walk home. He would put his headphones in, turn his music up to full volume and ignore the world. Today was no different; he scuffed his feet along the ground as he walked, caring only about getting home and relaxing.

It took him about 45 minutes to reach the front door to the apartment building. Before he unlocked it, he pulled his headphones out of his ears and wrapped them around his mp3 player. Sollux unlocked the door, and stepped into the bright hallway; he quickly made his way to the only other door on that floor, which he knew would be unlocked.

"Hey KK." Sollux said as he walked into the kitchen, he closed the door behind him and began searching the cupboards for a snack.

Karkat stopped buttering the toast he had just made, and watched Sollux carefully. "Hey Sollux. How was work?"

Sollux turned to look at Karkat, he didn't like the tone of voice his friend was using, "it wath fine. Why?"

Karkat waved his arms around, still holding the knife and toast, "oh I don't fucking know, maybe because I had a thousand missed calls on my fucking phone, and a messed up answer phone message! You wouldn't know anything about that would you!?"

"Thtop acting like a raving douche, KK! I'm fucking fine now! I jutht had a shit night ith all." Sollux moved out of the way of Karkat's thrashing arms.

" _I'm_ the douche!? I'm pretty sure I broke the fucking speed limit trying to get home to you! I thought you might've... That you could've..." Karkat stopped flailing and looked at the floor. "I wasn't here for you." He forced out.

Sollux felt his chest sink, last night he had been so frantically scared that he had felt furious with his best friend for being at work; he reached out a hand, and touched Karkat's shoulder, "I didn't mean to worry you. I'm fine now."

Karkat shrugged Sollux's hand off, "yeah well, you seemed pretty okay when I checked up on you. How'd you get to sleep anyway? I figured you'd be up until I got home."

"I jutht talked to thomeone." Sollux began rooting through the cupboards again.

"You didn't phone up that piss-sucking bitch ex of yours, did you?" Karkat took a large bite out of his toast, "because that would be a massive fucking mistake."

"No. I didn't call _her_."

Karkat froze mid-chew. "No, of course not." He pointed a butter-covered finger at Sollux accusingly, "you called a guy! And not just any fucking guy! You called _HIM_."

Sollux rolled his eyes; he could almost hear the cogs winding in Karkat's head. "And who would thith _'him'_ be exthactly?"

"You called Eridan."

The smarmy tone Karkat was speaking with grated on Sollux's nerves. He felt the familiar tendrils of anger clawing at the back on his head. "KK, I'm not in the mood for the obnoxiouth shit that I am sure will burtht forward at any moment, okay?" He warned.

Karkat frowned, "admit it, you called Eridan. After all these years of calling him a douche bag and a dip-shit, now you're fucking getting along with him!"

The rage was crawling through his mind now, discolouring every thought, "I had no other choithe." Sollux's voice was low.

"I knew it, you guys were always so alike. The anger issues, the blatant homo feels."

Sollux gripped the kitchen counter; he was no longer just frustrated by the constant joking; now he felt the hostility burning the backs of his eyes.

Karkat continued, "it's hard to get anything past my superior intellect. After all, I fucking knew this would happen, I fucking called it! I'm a-"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!"

Karkat's mouth snapped shut involuntarily as Sollux punched the top of the counter.

They stood completely still, the tension hung heavily around them. Karkat knew not to say anything, he had to wait for Sollux to make the first move, otherwise he risked making him even more pissed off.

Sollux focused on the pain in his knuckles, it helped him clear his mind of the angry thoughts. "Jutht thtop it, KK. I really can't be bothered to thit through another one of your thelf indulgent rantth, okay?" He spoke slowly. 

Karkat moved to stand next to Sollux, he put a hand on his back reassuringly, "sorry I pushed you. I should've listened."

Sollux flinched under the touch; he hated it when most people touched him, especially if they had just pissed him off this much. Even so, he allowed Karkat to continue. He nearly screamed when he felt another hand suddenly grab his shoulder. He whipped around and saw Gamzee.

"Hey best friends, are we all getting our friendship on?" His eyes were lidded, and his pupils large, "I just couldn't help myself, I had to get in on all the loving before it disappeared."

As Karkat tried not to laugh, Sollux brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his own nose. He let out an annoyed groan as his friends continued patting him. He felt Gamzee start using two hands and heard him say, "it's impossible for a motherfucker to be unhappy with all this trading of good feelings happening."

Sollux stepped out of the reach of his friend's hands, "alright that'th enough for me. I think I've had enough friendship-feelingth crap today."

Gamzee nodded and opened the fridge, as he stuck his head inside looking for food he said, "bet you feel all warm and tingly inside. Probably so full of the good stuff you could float away."

Sollux looked at Karkat and pulled a confused face, Karkat just shrugged. They left the kitchen together, and Karkat started up a new conversation. "So, I'm here tonight, we can do whatever you want, want to watch a movie or something together?"

Sollux grimaced, "that thoundth awful, KK. I really don't want to watch thome shitty romcom while you bitch and cry about it. Bethideth, I already made planth to go out."

"Okay firstly, you jizz loving cock-bag, I don't 'bitch and cry', okay?" Karkat stopped in the living room as Sollux reached the bottom of the stairs, "and secondly, since when do you have plans to go out on a Saturday night?"

"Well if you mutht know, after Eridan talked me down latht night, he athked if I wanted to hang out today after work." Sollux had been hoping to avoid telling Karkat about his plans with Eridan, mostly because of how his friend had acted a few minutes ago.

Karkat smiled knowingly, "so where you two going? His, here or a public place?"

"We're going out for drinkth." Sollux began climbing the stairs.

Karkat struggled to hold a serious face, "Sollux, don't let that hipster shit-for-brains get you drunk. He might try to touch your no-no parts."

Sollux rolled his eyes and continued stomping up the stairs, refusing to give a response. Karkat screamed after him, "don't let the bad hipster man soil my baby boy! Sollux! Heed my warnings! SOOLLUUUX!" Karkat was now struggling to control his laughter.

After slamming his bedroom door closed, Sollux dropped himself onto his beanbag. He needed to get dressed and ready to go out, but his mind was still buzzing with frustration. Sollux was thankful that he had showered that morning, because he definitely did not have time now.

There was a light knocking sound at his door, and Sollux looked up to see Karkat peeking his head around it, "hey, I'm not here to piss you off or try and get a reaction out of you, I just wanted to ask you something and get an honest answer."

"That dependth what you athk." Sollux replied curtly.

Karkat stepped into the room, careful not to stand on any of the items that were spread across the floor, "are you and Eridan _friends_ now?" He asked.

Sollux opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't find any words. He honestly didn't know what he considered Eridan to be. "I don't know... Maybe. It might be too early dayth for that jutht yet. I mean, it'th uth... We hated each other tho much that I'm thurprithed that we even thpoke to each other when we thaw each other in the library thith week. Who knowth if we're even going to thtill thpeak in a few weekth or monthth time."

Karkat nodded, "well, I will say this; you trusted him enough to call him when you were having a shit time... And now you're going outside on a Saturday night. He seems to be doing something right." Karkat opened the door to leave, "maybe he isn't such a jizz loving cock-bag."

"That'th what you called _me_." Sollux replied.

"And I meant it." Karkat grinned as he left.

Sollux sat and considered the situation. When the depression and panic had clouded his mind, Eridan really had seemed like the only viable option, what with Karkat out of the picture. He hadn't really wondered _why_ , he was just glad that the egotistical ass complied and helped.

With a thousand thoughts blowing around his mind, Sollux finally stood up and walked over to the wardrobe. He needed to find something that would make him look presentable, or at least, a little less like a homeless person. Sollux pulled out many shirts, the majority of them either being black or stained with something like toothpaste or food, and groaned. He didn't really have anything "sensible" to wear, asides from the white suit-shirt that he wore for any formal occasion he couldn't find an excuse to avoid.

Sollux removed his dark blue work shirt, and dumped it on the floor; then he pulled the clean white shirt off a hanger. He slipped it on, and buttoned it up.

Looking in the mirror with a grim face, Sollux argued with himself about whether or not he should wear a tie, and then decided against it. After all, they were only going out for drinks; it wasn't anything stupid like a date.

He pulled on a pair of black trousers, and found a matching pair of black shoes. He was going to be late; the clock said that it was 17:55; Sollux considered throwing a boot at Karkat for distracting him for so long.

Feeling a little self-conscious about how dressed-up he looked, Sollux decided to neatly roll up his sleeves to look a little more casual. Lastly he grabbed a thick black jumper in case it was cold when it was time to come home. With his phone, keys and wallet safely tucked away in his trouser pockets, it was time to go.

Sollux jogged downstairs, and laughed at Karkat who was sat in the living room with a romcom starting up on the TV, he was wearing baggy jogging bottoms and a fluffy grey dressing gown. They both stuck their middle fingers up at each other as Sollux ran past, and he left the apartment feeling the usual sickly anticipation that arose from his anxiety.

Sollux jogged through the familiar streets, remembering where Eridan's house was quite easily. After a few minutes he could see the out of place-looking house stuck between two apartment buildings, he gave one last little burst of speed to reach the front door. Sollux stopped to breathe heavily for a moment, the jog had really taken the wind out of him, but he brought his hand up to the door and knocked a little louder than he meant to. He walked down the steps, and waited for Eridan to answer the door.

His breath caught in his throat when Eridan appeared. He looked immaculate, and dressed perfectly to show off all of his best features.

Sollux struggled to speak, but finally managed to say, "tho, ready to go?" though his mouth felt as if it was full of cotton wool.

Eridan turned to lock the door, and Sollux took the opportunity to check out the bright white trousers Eridan had on. He barely even realised that Eridan was speaking.

"I hate to make a tradition of us meetin' and gettin' a meal, but I am starved, so I need to go somewhere that serves food, okay?"

Sollux watched Eridan jiggling and pulling at the door handle, despite the fact it was blatantly locked, "sure, thoundth alright, I'll probably only have thomething little, I filled up on shitty junk food today." He said.

Finally satisfied that the door was, in fact, locked, Eridan joined Sollux at the bottom of the steps, and together they began walking into town. 


	22. Drinks, Fights and a Good Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: homophobic language  
> alcohol use

Sollux didn't have much of a 'night-life', so he let Eridan make the decision of where they should go. "Tho, do you have any ideath for where we can go?" Sollux asked.

"Well, there's a pub I went to with some people from class, it's nice an they do some pretty good food. If you don't mind me choosin'." Eridan smirked.

The rest of the walk was punctuated with strained small-talk, but after a while this turned into dramatic complaining from Eridan. "I swear, if I don't eat soon, I'll die." He whined, quickening his walking pace.

"You're not going to _die_ you dumb-ath, shut up."

"Look at me, Sollux, I'm fuckin' wastin' away! Why aren't you concerned for my well bein'?" He looked Sollux in the eye, and lowered his voice to sound more serious, "if I die from starvation I'm goin' to land on top a you, and make sure I crush you to death. If I'm dyin' I'm takin' you with me."

Sollux laughed, "you couldn't crush a paper bag."

"Whatever Sollux, I'm fuckin' buff as hell under this," Eridan gently pulled at the fabric of his jumper, "I'm a fuckin' beefcake."

This only made Sollux laugh harder.

An old-looking pub finally came into view at the end of the road, and Eridan began power-walking towards it, "that's the place, Sollux! Look! My fuckin' saviour!"

Sollux grimaced as he struggled to keep up with Eridan.

When they walked into the pub, Eridan led Sollux to a booth in the furthest corner, "I'll be more comfortable if we're out a the way." He said as they reached the table.

Sollux shimmied himself along the wide seat until he was sat in the middle; Eridan sat down opposite him, grabbing a menu as he did. After a very brief moment he passed the menu to Sollux as he said, "I'm gettin' a burger, what do you want?"

"Probably jutht thome frieth, I ate a load of junk for lunch." Sollux watched Eridan roll his eyes and click his tongue.

A server came over to their booth with a small notepad, she flipped through it as she walked, "ready to order, guys?"

Eridan could have hugged her for being so prompt, "definitely. I would like the beef burger, no salad or sauces please, and fries. Oh, an we'll order our drinks at the bar."

She wrote it all down with a smile on her face, then turned to Sollux, "and for you?"

Sollux froze. There were days when he didn't give a shit about lisping in front of random strangers, or when he could come up with whole conversations avoiding any words that included an 'S', but there were also days when he felt his mind go numb and he couldn't come up with anything. He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to come up with something. He didn't care that he had just been lisping in front of Eridan, this was different, she was a stranger. Shit, should he order something else? _Shit, shit, shit!_

"He'll have a portion of fries, please. He's been eatin' crap all day." Eridan flashed a smile at the server, and she giggled as she left with the order. Looking at the bar he asked, "what drink do you want? I'm havin' a whiskey an coke."

"Uhh, I'll have thouthern comfort and lemonade, pleathe." Sollux replied quietly. As Eridan began to get up, Sollux added, "thank you."

Eridan stood up and looked at Sollux, "no problem. You looked uncomfortable... Plus I really wanted my burger an you were takin' too long."

"You're an ath." Sollux tried to hide the smile that threatened to appear. His eyes never left Eridan as he walked past the dark wooden tables, and up to the bar. Sollux hardly noticed that the smile had managed to sneak it's way onto his face; Eridan stood out like a ghost against all the deep reds and browns of the furniture and upholstery. He folded his arms on the table, and rested his head on top of them; he continued to watch Eridan , and noticed some little quirks, like the way he tapped his foot and drummed his fingers on the bar, and also how he fiddled with his scarf.

He forced himself to look away as Eridan began to return a minute or so later, with four glasses in-hand.

"What, You not in the mood to help me with these?" Eridan complained as he struggled to put the drinks on the table without spilling any.

Sollux quickly attempted to help; he steadied Eridan's wobbling hands with his own, and they managed to set the glasses down without any spillages.

"Thank you." Eridan said curtly, "I got us two each so that we don't have to go up again in five minutes."

"Cheerth." Sollux shifted himself to get comfortable, and tasted the first drink. He glanced up and saw Eridan swallow half of his own in one mouthful, "you needed that?" He commented.

Eridan nodded and raised his eyebrows, "oh fuck yes. I have had a fuckin' doozy of a day."

Sollux rested his head on his hand, "yeah? Wath work that bad?" He asked.

"Shit yes. Lifeguardin' has it's good days, but you wouldn't fuckin' _believe_ the amount of idiots I have to deal with on a daily basis, I mean, my God! But today takes the ever-lovin' biscuit." Eridan crossed his arms over his chest, "some stupid bitch pretended to drown just so that I'd jump in and save her."

"What? That'th fucking thtupid!" Sollux's lip curled upwards, "what the fuck ith wrong with people?"

Eridan drank another large swig, then nodded, "I know. I know. It's because of shit like this that I lost faith in humanity."

Sollux laughed, "well I deal with thome shockingly inthufferable ath-holeth at the computer shop. They know _dick_ about the thtuff they're buying, but will shell out a fucking bomb for it! I could thell thome of them a fucking microwave, and they wouldn't even notithe."

Eridan grinned and nodded, "you should just do it one day, see if anyone _does_ notic- aww shit, here's the food!" His attention veered off as he saw the server walk over carrying his large burger and a bowl of fries. Eridan's face lit up like christmas as the food was placed in front of him. "Thank you!" He exclaimed.

Sollux caught himself smiling once again at the almost child-like innocence that shone through on Eridan's face, he turned to the server, "thank you very much." He said.

"Just go up to the bar if there's anything else you want, enjoy your meals!" She smiled as she left them to eat.

Eridan looked giddy with excitement as he studied his plate of food. As Sollux shook salt over his own fries, he noticed something and frowned. Eridan was pushing his burger away from his fries using a knife; he also opened the burger to inspect it, removing the few pieces of onion from it.

"What _are_ you doing?" Sollux asked.

Eridan looked up, "what?"

" _That_ , you're being _weird_." Sollux said, motioning towards Eridan's plate with a fry, "did you do that when we got food yethterday?"

"do what?" Eridan asked, clearly not understanding what Sollux was trying to hint at.

"Theperate your food, you knob."

Eridan looked a little ashamed, "oh, you noticed that. Yeah, I hate it when food touches. It's bad, I know."

Sollux shrugged, "do what you want, I'm not complaining. I jutht can't remember theeing you do it latht time, ith all."

"Oh, yeah, I pretty much do it subconsciously now." Clearly embarrassed and a little uncomfortable, Eridan tried to change the subject, "so tell me about Mituna. You clearly care about him a lot if you were willin' to sacrifice half your cake for him."

Sollux picked up his drink and finished it in a few large gulps, "shit, we're already thtarting with the family thtuff. Alright, he'th my twin brother, and he'th probably the motht important perthon in my life."

Eridan took full advantage of the time Sollux spent talking to stuff his face full of burger, "mm-hmm."

"Yeah, he liveth at home with dad. He'th got a girlfriend, who'th pretty perfect for him. I dont know what to thay, he'th jutht Mituna." Sollux shrugged and started eating his fries.

"Wait, if he's your twin, why wasn't he in any classes with you?" Eridan asked.

Sollux groaned, he'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to explain anything, "fuck, he went to the... Thpecialithed learning thchool that was next door to highthchool. Didn't you ever notithe that I left five minuteth early at the end of the day? That wath tho that he had thomeone to pick him up."

Eridan chewed his food thoughtfully, after swallowing he said, "I _did_ notice you left early, but I never really paid much attention to it. I feel like such an ass, I would've walked with you."

"Eridan. I hate to break it to you, but we dethpithed each other, that would've been hell for both of uth." Sollux smirked, "why do you feel like an ath, anyway? I wouldn't have wanted you to walk with uth!"

"That's just fuckin' rude, Sollux." Eridan grinned. He knew that they really would've fought all the way home, but he still felt guilty for never meeting Mituna.

"Tho, tell me about your family then." Sollux started on his second drink.

"Fuck, really?" Eridan had already finished one of his whiskey and cokes, and he followed Sollux in starting on the second, "alright. Well, I have an older brother, he's twenty-seven, and he's the one who's goin' to inherit the family business. And I've also got my dad, who's currently runnin' the family business. Fuck, Sollux, do we have to? I thought you would've heard all about this shit from Fef."

"What? Why would FF tell me about _your_ family?" Sollux asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eridan spluttered, "because it's her family too! She's my step-sister, you fuckin' dolt!"

Sollux dropped the handful of fries he was holding, "what? Thinthe when!?"

"Her mother married my father when we were sixteen. They'd been together at that point for about eight years or so," Eridan nearly laughed at Sollux's expression, "she really didn't tell you?"

"No, _she really didn't tell me_! Fuck, that'th tho weird." Sollux pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

Eridan laughed as he finished the rest of his food, "finish up, Sollux, I'm buyin' us a shit-tonne of alcohol tonight."

Sollux slammed his now-empty glass down on the table with a sly smile. "Fuck it, keep them coming, Eridan."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As he night progressed, Eridan and Sollux got more and more intoxicated. They giggled over the stupidest things, and shoved eachother from across the table, trying to avoid hitting the plethora of empty glasses scattered across the table.

Sollux closed his eyes as he smiled, "you know what, thith ith the firtht thaturday night I've been outthide for in a long time." His lisp was even more pronounced now that he was drunk.

"You knoww wwhat, Sol, me too!" Eridan seemed to be completely incapable of controlling his stutter at this point.

"You want to know thomething funny? I wath actually going to athk you out for a drink yethterday, in the rethtaurant. But I got really embarrathed and couldn't finish becauthe the therver came over and interrupted me. Shhhh!" Sollux brought a finger up to his lips to accentuate the 'shh'.

Eridan flushed slightly, "you should'vve asked me, Sol, it's fun bein' wwith you like this."

"You, you called me Thol latht night, too. Why 'Thol'?" Sollux asked, propping his head up with one hand.

"Don't you like it, Sol? I thought you wwould'vve liked it. I think it sounds marvvelous, it rolls off the tongue. Sol, Sol, Sol." Eridan looked around in a daze, "maybe I only use it wwhen I like you." He snorted and began laughing again.

Sollux was quiet for a second, then he covered his face with one hand, "I actually do like it. I really do."

"Good. Hey, Sol, thanks for comin' out tonight." Eridan rested his chin on his arms that were folded on the table. "I had fun. I actually like hangin' out wwith you, wwhen you're not being an ass-fuck."

"I'm glad I came out, too. And you are thtill a shit-bag." Sollux smiled. "Thankth for being there for me latht night. Usually Karkat would've talked me through it, but he wath at work."

Eridan nodded, "it's alright, I understand. Any time you need to phone me, just phone."

The smile slipped from Sollux's face, "I appreciate that. Aradia uthed to lithten to me... But then she... Fuck." He covered his face with both of his hands, and felt Eridan gently touch his arm. Even in his drunken state, Sollux noticed that this wasn't the first time that Eridan had physically comforted him, and Sollux had been comfortable with the touch each time. "Thorry. I'm being thtupid. I jutht... She wath the betht fucking thing to happen to me, and I fucking drove her away."

Eridan swallowed a lump in his throat, "don't talk like that, it's not your fault."

"Yeth it ith! It'th all my fault! I mutht've done thomething wrong! I can't believe that she'd jutht go off like that, she wath thuppothed to love me, what did I do wrong!?" Sollux kept his face covered as he fought the tears. "I'm tho fucking pathetic, I actually went to the library to return a book for her, and I really wanted to tell her that I did it, tho that she would talk to me again!"

"Hey, don't wworry, wwe'vve all been there," Eridan continued gently rubbing Sollux's arm in an attempt to comfort him further.

"But you know what, Eridan, I haven't told her that I've returned it. Ath much ath I wanted her to know, and for her to love me again, I didn't. Want to know why?"

"Wwhy?" Eridan whispered.

Sollux removed his hands from his face, his eyes were wet, but he had succeeded in holding back the tears, "becauthe I wath too dithracted by you. You kept my mind off her, and I completely forgot to textht her."

Eridan smiled, "good! I'm glad!"

Sollux frowned, he had just noticed that there was a rather fat, middle-aged man watching him from the bar. Without warning, the fat guy got up, and began making his way over to the booth. When he finally reached them, his focus was completely on Sollux. His speech was incredibly slurred, "take those sunglasses off, you ain't ou'side. Wha' the fuck is wrong wiv you?"

Sollux felt the unfamiliar cocktail of fear and anger wash over him. His insides were on fire, but a chill ran through his veins. Sollux couldn't say anything, his body refused to comply with his brain.

"I said you look like a fuckin' idiot wiv those on. Take 'em off, you cunt." He huffed, visably exerted by the short walk over.

The shock of the sudden confrontation left Sollux speechless. Furious tears pricked his eyes, as the humiliation and hostility began to build. As Sollux continued to stare, Eridan cleared his throat loudly; this gained the large man's attention. "I don't think that's any business of yours." He stated calmly.

This comment appeared to infuriate the man. His face became a shade of pink, "I didn' fuckin' ask _you_ , or wha'? You this guy's boyfriend or sommin'? He can't fight his own battles, so he brings you along wiv him?" He snarled.

Sollux was finally able to tear his eyes away from the monstrosity of a man, and turn his gaze to Eridan; who was sat with his hands clasped together on the table, looking quite composed.

"And what does _that_ have to do with anythin'? Whether he is my friend, boyfriend, or a complete stranger is beyond the point. The way you are speakin' to him is undeniably despicable, the language you're usin' is shameful at best." Eridan spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully to avoid stuttering, "You do _**not**_ speak to him like that, do you understand? Now, leave us along an' stop botherin' us."

The man turned a dark shade of red, "who the fuck do you think you are!? I'm not gunna put up wiv some faggots talkin' to me like tha'!"

Eridan's demeanor changed suddenly, his eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared, "What did you just say?" He asked quietly.

The man appeared to believe that Eridan's loss of calm was some sort of victory, he sneered, "I said, _I'm not gunna put up wiv some_ _ **faggots**_ _talkin' to me like tha'._ Coz tha's wha' you both look like, a couple a faggots."

Eridan stood up, his cool facade had completely disappeared; he had become rigid, and didn't even attempt to mask his livid expression. Eridan was a couple of inches shorter than the man, and weighed about a quarter of the man's weight. "Apologise for usin' that word." Eridan was nearly whispering.

"Wha'? _Faggot_? Ain't you one?" The man laughed, obviously not very intimidated by Eridan's move, "is tha' why this dick won't take his fuckin' sunglasses off? For fashion?"

"I won't tell you again. Apologise." Eridan warned.

The drunken oaf's attention turned to Sollux, "you a faggot? Is tha' wha' you are?" He slurred, "gimme those fuckin' glasses." He reached out for Sollux's face.

"DON'T YOU FUCKIN' DARE TOUCH HIM!" Eridan lunged forwards and grabbed the fat man's shirt; who only had enough time to look at Eridan before Eridan threw his own head back and swung it forwards again, slamming his own forehead into the man's face.

Eridan felt the larger man's nose crumple under his forehead; he heard a satisfying 'crunch', and saw the fountain of crimson blood erupt from his face. The guy dropped to the floor like a sack of shit.

Eridan looked truly terrifying with the other man's blood dripping down his forehead, but the thing that scared Sollux was Eridan's eyes. They were full of hatred and had lost their gleam; they looked cold and harsh, and they held none of their familiar warmth. Sollux was shocked that Eridan had been able to take down the much larger man so easily.

The man was sprawled on the ground, clutching at his face, bellowing. Eridan knelt down next to him and grabbed a fistful of hair, his voice was scarily calm as he spoke, "you're not gunna use that word again. Are you?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer, he just slammed the guy's face into the floor and stood up.

"Oh shit, hey Eridan, let'th leave. Okay?" Sollux grabbed a handful of napkins off the table and stood up.

Eridan only nodded in response, allowing Sollux to lead him away from the table and out of the pub's doors. Sollux didn't stop pulling until they were about five minutes away from the pub, and just to be sure, he took them in a different route just in case they were being followed.

"Fuck, Eridan, what wath that!?" Sollux and Eridan slowed to a stop under a street light.

"I fuckin' hate that wword." Eridan replied. His stutter was exacerbated by the alcohol and nerves, his hands were also trembling.

"Yeah, but you broke hith nothe!"

"He deservved it. He spoke to you like shit, an' called us... _That_." Eridan looked at Sollux, the hatred had almost completely vanished from his eyes, but the blood remained. "He tried to grab you, Sol... I couldn't let him get awway wwith that."

Sollux shifted himself closer to Eridan, and lifted his chin with one hand. "Well thankth for thtanding up for me." He began wiping Eridan's face with the napkins, he was slightly rough because of the fact he was quite drunk. "Look at you, you're a meth. You got red on you." He muttered.

Eridan didn't reply, he was very aware of how close Sollux's face was. His breathing became shallow.

After a little while, Sollux stopped, "good enough." He said.

"Good enough? _Good enough_!? I am Eridan Ampora, I do not settle for _'good enough'!_ "

Sollux rolled his eyes, "shut up, Eridan, I can't do shit with thethe crappy dry napkinth."

"I don't care! I am supposed to look perfect!" Eridan fumed, "you're not the one who's covvered in some bastard homophobe's blood, Sollux!"

"Shut up, Eridan." Sollux wanted nothing more than to shut the loud, dramatic hipster up.

"I beg your fuckin' pardon! But I think that I am allowwed to be a bit-" Eridan's words were stolen by Sollux's lips being breifly pressed against his.

When Sollux pulled away he looked satisfied, "finally I can hear mythelf think." He turned away and began walking in a shuffling manner. When Eridan didn't follow, he shouted, "you can thtay here if you want, maybe the man will come find you and take you back to hith!"

Eridan wiped his bottom lip with his thumb, he stumbled after Sollux, barely able to force his feet to go where he wanted them to.

They walked together, side-by-side, in the general direction of both their homes. Eridan stared at the sky as they walked, "hey Sollux, do you think- SOLLUX!" Eridan ran forwards, grabbed Sollux's arm and pulled him close.

Sollux had been walking at an angle, and had ended up in the road; when he had approached a parked car, Eridan was so drunk he thought that Sollux was about to get run over.

Eridan's heart was pounding in his chest, he clutched at Sollux, "don't you evver do that to me again!"

Sollux could feel Eridan shaking, he resisted the urge to hug him back, and instead broke the embrace. "I'm thorry, look, no harm done!"

"No, no, that is it, I havve decided to wwalk you home. I am nothin' if not chivvalrous, and I can't havve you gettin' yourself killed. So lead the wway, Sol." Eridan linked his arm with Sollux, and they walked together through the dark streets.

It was silent out, and both Eridan and Sollux felt guilty about ruining the perfect quiet whenever they spoke. It was quite cold, and Sollux was glad he'd brought his thick hoodie. He glanced down at Eridan, who had the lower half of his face covered with his scarf.

They didn't really speak again until Sollux's apartment building was in sight.

"I jutht... Aargh, my head ith thwimming right now. I can barely thee anything." Sollux muttered, the alchohol was giving him a headache.

"Then take your bloody sunglasses off, you knob-head. It's fuckin' dark out."

"No. The glatheth thtay on. Pluth my plathe ith right there."

Eridan pouted, his hopes crushed. "Take them off! You're blind wwearin' them! Wwhat's the big deal anywway?"

Sollux closed his eyes as they approached the steps to his apartment building. "Jutht leave it."

"No! I wwant you to take them off." Eridan stopped walking and put his hands on his hips, "it's about the principle of the matter noww."

"No, Eridan." Sollux was starting to get quite angry about the incessent demanding attitude Eridan had.

"But wwhy not?" Eridan whined, he wanted to see Sollux's eyes so badly he was considering snatching the glasses right off Sollux's face.

Sollux finally felt something inside of him snap. "Becauthe I hate my fucking eyeth!" He snarled. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He wished he could take them back. He didn't want Eridan knowing how much he hated himself.

"Wwhat? Wwhy?" The look of pity on Eridan's face made Sollux feel sick.

"Fuck, Eridan. I really jutht," Sollux made an exasperated noise, "look, I jutht don't like my eyeth, okay? People either make a huge deal out of them, or make fun of them. I jutht want normal eyeth, I mean, who _would_ want thethe eyeth?" Sollux ran both of his hands through his hair and stared at his feet.

"Howw _dare_ you, they're fin- _fan_ tastic. I wwish I had your eyes." Eridan pouted angrilly, "you should throww the glasses in the bin an let me see them." He moved in front of Sollux, and wobbled on his unstable legs.

Sollux looked up and dropped his hands to his side, "shut up, Eridan."

Eridan frowned, "no really, I'vve alwways been jealous of them. I really wwanna see your eyes again. It's been years since I last saww them." He said softly.

"Shut up." Sollux refused to look up, he doubted the sincerity of Eridan's words.

"No I wwon't shut up."

Sollux froze as Eridan leant forwards and brought his hands up to his face, he closed his eyes as Eridan pulled his sunglasses off.

"Look at me." Eridan said, holding the sunglasses to his chest, "Sol? Please?"

Sollux rolled his eyes as he opened them, he looked at Eridan with furrowed eyebrows. "There, thatithfied? Yeah, get a good fucking look at the freak eyeth. Ooh call your friendth over, they might want to have a look too!" He spat bitterly.

Eridan continued to stare, ignoring Sollux's words and focusing on the eyes that were currently watching him suspiciously.

"What the fuck are you thtaring at, you inthufferable ath?"

"I'vve been wwaiting to see them for a long time, Sol." Eridan was hardly blinking, "you knoww wwhat, I don't wwant you to throww your glasses awway anymore. Part of me wwants to be the only one that gets to see them."

Sollux blushed, "I'm not your perthonal freak show, Eridan." His words held no venom. Even Aradia hadn't been this nice about his eyes.

"You're not a freak showw."

Sollux struggled to hold Eridan's gaze. _'Don't be so fucking kind about my eyes. They're hideous. They're disgusting. They're shameful. They're-'_

"They're fuckin' perfect."

They were almost nose-to-nose; Sollux flushed, his mouth suddenly felt very dry. "Eridan." He whispered. His mind screamed at him to do a thousand things; _push the bastard over and run, grab him, kick him in the nuts, thank him, scream in his face, hug him, punt him in the shins, grab him and..._

"Fuck it." Sollux said.

Eridan jumped as he was suddenly grabbed and pulled close by Sollux, their lips were clumsily crushed together in an unprepared kiss. Eridan's eyes went wide with shock, he pushed Sollux away and bit his own lip.

They stood together; Sollux's arms were still around Eridan, and Eridan's hands were on Sollux's chest.

"I'm thorry..." Sollux stammered, "I wath... You were jutht tho clothe to my fathe, and I..." He could barely hear himself over the sound of blood pounding in his ears.

Eridan licked his bottom lip nervously, "it's not that, trust me. I just need to knoww if this is because a the alcohol or not."

"Do you even _care_?"

"Good point."

They grabbed eachother with a fervoured passion, their lips locked together as teeth nipped and tongues explored. Sollux ran his hands through Eridan's hair, his fingers catching on the stiffened hair products.

Eridan gripped Sollux closely in a tight embrace, pulling their bodies together.

Completely driven by lust, Sollux's mind begged him to mark Eridan. His hands trailed Eridan's neck, he stroked the scarf for a second before balling a fistfull of it in one hand; he then used it to maneuver Eridan's head to one side, never once breaking the kiss. After continuing for an unknown amount of time, Sollux stopped the kiss, then pulled the scarf down to expose Eridan's neck; he ducked his head down and licked the smooth skin. Sollux was vaguely aware of Eridan saying something, but the words were lost and unintelligable.

Sollux began kissing Eridan's neck. Following blind, lust-fuelled instinct, he began to suck as hard as he could, biting a little as he did. Eridan dragged his nails down Sollux's back, which drove Sollux into biting harder.

Sollux flinched as he felt nails digging into him, and when they became too painful to ignore, he pulled away. Eridan quickly covered the bruise with his scarf, and stared up at Sollux with a red face. "Wwhat wwas that about!? It hurt like a bitch!"

Sollux noticed that they were still holding onto each other in an alcohol fuelled daze. "Thorry. I couldn't help it." Each word took so much effort to say. He was gaining a sick pleasure from dominating the other man. Sollux's eyes wandered down to Eridan's lips; he saw them move, but barely registered hearing what he said. He thought he heard, "Sol, I fuckin' lovve your eyes..." Before he claimed the lips with his own.

This time the kiss was slower, they blindly explored eachother's bodies with fumbling hands. The alcohol removed their inhibitions, but made them clumsy and needy.

Sollux's head was filled with voices screaming for him to invite Eridan in; to mark him further, to make him scream his name. Sollux's hand trembled as he pushed Eridan's shoulders and seperated them completely, "Eridan, do you want to..." He didn't know quite how to word it.

They both jumped as the darkness they had been stood in was suddenly flooded with yellow light. Sollux looked up the steps to the front door.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?"


	23. Responsible Karkat

Karkat stood above them with a look of disgust plastered across his face. His hands were planted firmly on his hips. "I'm fucking waiting for an explanation as to what you two think you're doing!" He shouted.

Sollux and Eridan stood frozen in place, their arms still wrapped around eachother. They both stared up at Karkat; who was still wearing his extremely fluffy, grey dressing-gown, a matching pair of fluffy grey slippers, and black pyjama trousers.

"KK, what are you doing here!?" Sollux asked in a hushed, but angry voice.

Karkat threw his arms up in the air, "one, I asked you first, you fucking moron! And two, because it's blatantly slipped from your memory; I live here!"

Sollux pulled a face, "no KK, what are you doing _here_ , like, right at thith moment?" He motioned his head towards Eridan, who was so stunned by the sudden appearance of Karkat that he was completely silent.

"Really, Sollux? You're fucking joking right?" Karkat crossed his arms, "I have been up for hours, keeping an eye out for your stupid ass to crawl home! Then I see two drunk dip-shits outside my door and lo and behold, it's the two of you trying to swallow eachother's tongues!"

Eridan pulled a mortified face, "oh my god." He whispered, wishing the ground would swallow him up.

"You." Karkat pointed a finger at Sollux, "get your blithering ass inside right at this moment. And _you_ ," the finger was now directed at Eridan, "give me a minute to grab my fucking coat and I'll walk you home, because you blatantly don't have the mental capacity to get there yourself without either jumping on some poor bastard's cock or more likely, getting yourself killed. Although your death _would_ be a fucking virtuous gift to bestow on the world." With that, he spun on his heels and stormed inside to retrieve something more sensible to wear.

Eridan and Sollux began nervously giggling the second the door closed behind Karkat; they continued to lean against eachother for the support their own legs wouldn't give them.

"That wath like getting told off by a parent!" Sollux snorted loudly.

"Papa Kar!" Eridan screamed through his laughter. This sent them both even further into hysterics, their mirth ringing out into the silence of the night.

Their laughter died away suddenly as they both became conscious of how they were still hanging onto eachother. Eridan gazed up at Sollux with a wistful expression.

"Thtop looking at me like that," Sollux said, "have I got shit on my fathe, or thomething?"

Eridan leant a little closer, "no. But if Kar's takin' me home noww, then that means you're not gunna be drunk wwhen I see you next. And then you'll hide your eyes awway again, and I wwon't be able to see them for fuck-knowws howw long," he pouted, "so I'm makin' the most of it wwhile I can. I've gotta make this image a you last."

Sollux felt a warmth blossom in his chest, it spread through his entire body and made him hold onto Eridan a little tighter. He had no idea what to say, or even how to react. He'd never felt this kind of pride-like happiness before, and it wasn't an unwelcome feeling.

"I wwish I didn't havve to go, Sol. This really wwas a lot a fun." Eridan wavered on the spot, and smiled sadly, "I don't wwant us to not hang out again. Wwe havve to do this again soon, okay?"

Sollux couldn't bring himself to fake a smile, he hated the thought of Eridan having to leave. He was vaguely aware of how soft the fabric of Eridan's clothes felt, "let me know when you get home. Thend me a textht tho that I don't have to worry."

"Are you actually _concerned_ about my wwell bein', Sol?" Eridan puffed out his chest dramatically, "you saww howw I took dowwn that big fucker, I can take on anythin'."

There were still traces of dried blood on Eridan's forehead, and Sollux felt another sudden rush of both guilt and gratitude, "I know you can," he said, "thankth for today ED. You fucking thaved my ath, and I really appreciate it."

"Oh, so I'm ED noww?" Eridan grinned, "but you don't need to thank me again. I'd do it a hundred fuckin' times, so forget about it, it's just howw someone as chivvalrous an amazin' as me _should_ act."

When Sollux cupped Eridan's face with his hand, the whole world seemed to disappear for the both of them. Their lips met softly, and this time, there was no heated passion, or even a battle for dominance. There was only affection.

Of course, it could only last the briefest of moments before Eridan was wrenched away by a very grumpy looking Karkat, "jeez I leave you two for five fucking minutes while I put my shoes and coat on, and you're at it like fucking rabbits! Have some fucking decency for fucks sake!" he dragged Eridan away by pulling at his arm, "come on, let's get you home, Eridan. And Sollux, get in the house! I'll deal with you when I get back!"

Eridan waved at Sollux with his free hand, and walked backwards as he watched Sollux retreat into the apartment building. After he was out of sight, Eridan turned around to walk properly, and Karkat let go of him.

"Eridan, I need to ask you something." Karkat said, staring straight ahead. Not bothering to wait for Eridan to respond, he continued, "what are you doing with Sollux?"

"Wwell wwe had some drinks and just had some fun." Eridan smiled, once again running a thumb along his own bottom lip.

Karkat's voice remained low, "that's just it, Eridan. I want to know if you're playing around with Sollux just for _'fun'_." He stuffed his hands in his own pockets, "what I'm asking is are you fucking around with Sollux for shits and giggles, or do you seriously like him."

"I'vve alwways liked him, Kar. Wwell in highschool at least... Evven wwhen I hated him, I liked him." Eridan looked at Karkat and made a loud, 'shh!' noise dramatically.

Karkat finally looked up at Eridan, "what? You mean you... Is that fucking blood on your face?!" He exclaimed.

Eridan pouted a little, "I _kneww_ Sollux didn't get it all off! I bet I look like a mess!" He whined.

Karkat stopped walking and pulled an agitated face, "why the fuck do you have blood on you, you thick, ignorant, dick-headed, wanker?" He screamed, "what the fuck did you and Sollux _do_ tonight!?"

"Someone wwas actin' like a complete bastard to Sollux, an made fun a him. So I nutted them." Eridan grinned widely, "I think I broke their nose."

"Oh that's a huge fucking weight off my mind, it's good to know that you're willing to fucking attack someone at the drop of a hat!" Karkat snapped sarcastically.

Eridan continued walking, leading the way to his home, "Sollux wwas obvviously shaken up by wwhat the bloke wwas sayin', you shoulda seen him. The guy tried to grab Sollux," Eridan's expression darkened, "I wwasn't gunna stand for it."

After continuing to walk for a little while in silence, Karkat asked another question, "so did that whole dick-fest you two instigated outside my house happen just because you're drunk?"

"Probably. Wwe're both pretty fuckin' drunk!" Eridan laughed, unable to comprehend the implications of the question.

Karkat frowned at Eridan's answer; he now believed that Eridan had tried to take advantage of the fact that Sollux had been drunk to get what he wanted.

As they approached Eridan's house, Karkat watched Eridan pull a phone out of his tight, white trouser pockets. "What are you doing?" He asked as they ascended the front steps.

"I promised Sollux I'd let him knoww wwhen I got home. An that's wwhat I'm doin'." Eridan struggled to type the message with his vision so impaired. "I don't wwant him to wworry."

Karkat frowned, "Eridan listen, Sollux has been trying to get over the biggest shit-storm of his life, okay. So don't fuck him around for your own selfish reasons, he doesn't need another... _Her_ in his life. So don't fucking drag him along. If he doesn't want it, you have to back off away from him." He turned and began walking away, "I'll see you later." He muttered.

Before Eridan could even register what Karkat had just said, the short man began running back in the direction they had just walked from. Eridan looked down at his phone and noticed he still was holding a pair of dark sunglasses in one hand.

-.-.-

Karkat burst through his own front door dripping with sweat and panting as if he'd run a marathon; he marched though the kitchen and into the living room where Sollux was sitting, and stripped off the coat he was wearing, "I have just sprinted the entire way home to hear your side of this monumental dick-scraping experience that I was unfortunate enough to have to witness." He panted heavily, "would you care to fucking explain just what in the name of all that is wrong in the world that was about!?"

Sollux looked up with bleary, barely focused eyes, "what?"

Karkat threw his arms into the air, "what do you mean 'what'!? Enlighten me as to what the fuck you and that hipster were doing outside our home! I thought you weren't even friends!"

"Didn't your parentth ever give you 'the talk', KK?" Sollux sniggered. "And here I wath thinking that you wath a big boy."

"Oh your comedic stylings are so fresh and hilarious," Karkat muttered bitterly, "all I want to know is why you spent however-long sucking on Ampora's face. I've already heard Eridan's side of it, and now I want to hear what you have to say for yourself."

There was a thick, heavy silence. Sollux's brain was clouded and muggy, and he couldn't seem to form a coherent insult to throw at the shorter man. "Why ith it any of your fucking buthineth who I kith." Sollux finally spat out.

This seemed to push one of Karkat's buttons, his face and ears flushed a furious red that was bordering on becoming purple, "BECAUSE YOU LITTLE SHIT SMEAR, I DONT WANT TO SEE YOU GET HURT BY SOMEONE AGAIN! BECAUSE WE'RE FUCKING FRIENDS AND THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO! I'M TRYING TO LOOK OUT FOR YOU, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE TURD!" Karkat's voice exploded into the room, "WHY CAN'T YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK, FUCKING HEAD? I WAS THE ONE WHO HELD YOU THAT NIGHT WHEN YOU GOT FUCKED OVER LAST, REMEMBER? IT WAS **ME**! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU GET LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN! I AM TRYING TO FUCKING PROTECT YOU!"

Sollux shrank away from the voice, the alcohol made Karkat seem much more intimidating, and the words hit him hard. The familiar feeling of his insides twisting into knots began, and Sollux gripped his hands together.

Karkat clenched his hands into fists as he spoke, "you're old enough and stupid enough to make your own mistakes, Sollux. But don't insult me by telling me it's none of my business. Not after everything I have done for you. Don't you fucking _dare_ try and pull that 'big-boy Sollux' bullshit on me again." His shoulders sagged a little as some of the anger melted away, "I'm always going to be here for you when you need that safety net, but I'd rather you didn't get up on that emotion shit-wire in the first place. Don't set yourself up for a fall, Sollux."

A lighter silence fell between them. Sollux sniffed, covered his hands with the sleeves of his hoodie, then covered his eyes, "KK, I've thpent my entire life hating mythelf, and after everything that'th happened to me, I think I fucking detherve _one_ night where thomeone tellth me they actually _like_ the thingth about me that I hate tho much!"

Karkat's still angry features softened slightly, "look, Sollux, I just don't want you making a massive fucking mistake that you're going to regret later. You were both drunk, do you really think that's -"

"He thaid he loved my eyeth." Sollux interrupted, looking up from his trembling hands. His eyes were glistening, "do you know what it feelth like to look at yourthelf in the mirror every day and fucking hate everything that'th looking back at you? To give anything to change yourthelf but know that you're thtuck like it forever?"

Karkat opened his mouth to respond, but Sollux cut him off before he could start. The look of pity on Karkat's face spoke for him.

"Then thomeone cometh along and thayth that they _love_ your flawth, that they're _jealouth_ of them, and they aren't lying!" Sollux's voice cracked a little as he spoke, "I, I needed to hear that from thomeone, and that perthon jutht happened to be Eridan, okay. I don't need you judging me for fucking being human!" Sollux wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve, hating how exacerbated his emotions were when he was drunk.

He flinched inwardly as he felt Karkat drop down next to him on the sofa, and pull him into an awkward hug. Karkat's voice was quiet when he spoke, "sorry. I'm not judging you _or_ your choices, Sollux. I'm just trying my best to stop you from getting hurt, I don't want to see you getting screwed over again."

"I know." Sollux mumbled.

Karkat released Sollux from his grasp, "go to bed, you've got work in the morning." He muttered.

Sollux nodded in reply, but didn't say anything as he walked up the stairs and to his room. He kicked his bedroom door closed, and dropped onto the bed fully clothed. The world spun around him and made his stomach tighten.

"Fuck." Sollux muttered, closing his eyes.


	24. Hangovers

Images of Sollux filled Eridan's dreams once again. Their lips met passionately, and they held onto one another.

"Eridan..." Sollux said quietly, his voice echoed strangely, "Eridan..." He raised a hand to his sunglasses; his long, thin fingers played on the frames.

Eridan's chest tightened in anticipation, he felt a blush creep over his cheeks. "Sol..." He whispered.

When Sollux pulled the glasses from his own face, his eyes were closed. A teasing smile played on his lips, "Eridan..." He murmured, his voice still sounding so strange in Eridan's mind.

"Open them." Eridan demanded weakly, his lips barely able to form the words, "let me see."

"ERIDAN!"

Eridan's eyes snapped open, and as he blinked away the mugginess of the dream, he saw a giggling mess of a girl stood in front of him.

"Fef!? Wwhat the fuck!?" He screamed, throwing one of his many plump pillows at her.

"Eridan, I can't breathe! I've been calling your name for ages trying to wake you up!" She gasped, doubling over clutching her stomach, "does dear Sollux know that you dream about him? And such a dirty mind too! 'Open them, I want to see'!?"

"Oh get your mind outta the gutter, Fef! I wwas talkin' about his fuckin' eyes!" Eridan insisted; folding his arms and pouting a little. As Feferi continued to struggle with her laughter, Eridan surveyed his room. His bedsheets and quilt lay in a pile on the floor, as did the majority of his pillows; asides from that, it seemed quite orderly.

"Uhh, Eridan, what the shell is that on your face?" Feferi's giggles had been silenced very suddenly, "is that blood?"

Eridan's eyes widened as he leapt from his bed and ran to his large bedroom mirror. "WHAT." He shouted as he saw the flaking, brownish-red blood on his forehead and the bridge of his nose. Eridan's mouth hung open as he saw that not only was he still wearing his outfit from the night before, but it was completely ruined with tiny blood stains.

His once-pristine white trousers were never going to be clean again; there was a whole three blood drops on them! Eridan was already mourning their loss.

"Eridan, did you kill Sollux last night?" Feferi joked, "I knew you two being fronds was too good to be true." She shook her head , smiling.

"No, that's not it." Eridan muttered; memories of headbutting a full-grown man played out in his mind. "I'll have you know I actually protected Sollux last night. I can't believe I forgot that, I fuckin' headbutted someone for him."

Feferi's face brightened, "whale look at you! You actually used your angry and violent disposition for good!" She giggled, "colour me impressed!"

Eridan pulled a face at Feferi in the mirror, which she returned gleefully, "Fef, I am in dire need of a shower, so excuse me while I take my leave." He huffed as he walked over to the bathroom with his nose in the air.

"Leave the door open a smidge so we can talk about your night, okay?" Feferi requested as she began picking up all of the fallen bed items.

Eridan nodded, he walked into his glorious bathroom and made sure to leave the door open just a little. He turned his shower on before stripping off his filthy clothes, waiting for the water to heat up.

Feferi's voice was still quite clear as she spoke loudly from the bedroom, "so come on, water you waiting for? Spill the gossip, what happened last night?"

Eridan stepped into the shower, relaxing under the warm water, "well we went to the pub, got very drunk, I nutted a dick head, an then," he hesitated as he tried to recollect the events, "I'm pretty sure I walked him home before I came back here." He moved his head under the stream of water, allowing it to pour over his face as he started washing his hair. He was eager to finally feel clean again.

"Oh, you gentleman. So what did the guy do to deserve you headbutting him?" Feferi asked.

Eridan began washing his hair with his favourite coconut shampoo, "he called me an Sollux 'faggots' an then he tried to grab Sollux's glasses off him." He began rinsing.

"Wow, what a dick! Yeah he dolphinately deserved it. So did anything _else_ happen?" Feferi's voice was high and insinuating.

"No, I don't think so, everything's just too damn muggy. I'm pretty fuckin' hungover, Fef."

They didn't speak for the rest of Eridan's shower, and he was able to finish his cleaning routine in peace. He turned off the taps, and stepped onto the bath mat, grabbing a thick, mauve towel from the towel rack. Eridan sighed as he began drying himself, "Fef, can you grab me a clean shirt and a pair of boxers, please?" He heard Feferi get off the bed and begin rummaging through his drawers.

She was taking ages, "yeah, any shirt will do Fef, it doesn't need to match my fuckin' towel or anythin'." He complained as his teeth chattered. Eridan slapped a hand to his forehead as the sudden realisation hit him, "you're lookin' for that fuckin' Sea World one aren't you?" He moaned.

"Yes indeedy!" Feferi's arm shot through the door, holding an atrociously large shirt and a pair of black boxer shorts. "Sorry I took so long finding it, but _someone_ hid it at the very back of his shirt drawer!"

Eridan groaned dramatically, "Fef, it's eight sizes too big! Why do you insist on forcin' me to wear it at any given opportunity?" He snatched the clothes out of her hand.

"Eridan Ampora, I bought you that shirt when we went to Sea World together. It was a lovely gesture on my part, and now it serves as a reminder of my love for you." Feferi tried and failed to sound serious, "besides, doesn't it bring back such fun memories?"

The trip to Sea World had been perfect. Eridan and Feferi had gone together while their parents were away on their honeymoon, and it was something they both needed. Feferi hadn't been around Eridan much, because she and Sollux had been dating and it proved to be too awkward, especially since Eridan and Sollux had daily fist fights. This changed when Feferi and Sollux had broken up; Eridan had stepped up as her best friend and step-brother, and comforted her with everything he could.

Sea World had proven to be the perfect distraction; they both loved marine animals, and they had made up for lost time, chatting non-stop the whole weekend. Which is why Eridan was so pissed off that the memory was tarnished thanks to the godawful, tent-sized shirt. Feferi on the other hand, thought it was hilarious.

As Eridan stomped into the bedroom drying his hair with his towel, Feferi burst into hysterics; the shirt reached his knees and made him look like a five year old. He frowned at her when he stopped drying his hair and dropped the towel onto the floor, "yeah, yeah, laugh it up." He pouted.

Feferi's laughter died abruptly once again, "Eridan, what's _that_!?" She asked with her mouth agape.

Fearing the worst, Eridan leapt in front of the mirror and began searching his face for something like an extra nipple, "what? what's _what_ , Fef!?" He hissed.

Her voice was smooth as silk when she spoke again, "on your neck, Eridan. What is _that_?"

Eridan frowned, his gaze dropped to his reflection's neck, where he saw a very dark purple bruise standing out against his otherwise flawless skin.

"Is that a _hickey_ , my dear Eridan?" Feferi asked smugly.

He couldn't answer, Eridan's mind was suddenly thrown into chaos. The kisses he had thought were only a figment of his dreams had actually happened.

Eridan and Sollux had kissed. They had been completely drunk, but they had kissed; Sollux had even gone so far as to give Eridan the love-bite.

"You're _blushing_!" Feferi squealed.

Eridan nodded; he could remember how every kiss had felt, and was replaying the whole scene in his head again. He ran a thumb along his lips as he continued to try and process everything. Sollux had held him, kissed him, and had... Eridan couldn't suppress the grin; Sollux had shown him his eyes. A blush crept over his cheeks as he remembered.

A whole spectrum of expressions flashed through Eridan's head; the way that Sollux looked a little sad when they spoke of leaving, the way that he would hide his awkward and slightly crooked smiles with his hand, the way he clenched his eyes shut when he laughed uncontrollably... The way his eyes would become slightly lidded when he blushed after a kiss.

"Whoa, slow down there mister! Are you going to share with the rest of the class?" Feferi's smile was wide and cheesy, and her eyes glittered with anticipation. She was sat on the bed with a pillow squeezed tightly in her arms, "I thought you said it wasn't a date!"

"It wwasn't." Eridan mumbled, "I don't knoww howw it got to it, but wwe kissed." His eyes flicked to Feferi, "wwe fuckin' kissed, an Sollux gavve me a fuckin' hickey."

Feferi giggled and fell back against the pillows behind her, "Eridan! You're so _naughty_! Oh, you should call Sollux and invite him round!" She gasped, "maybe this could be the start of something! Maybe you could both leave more hickeys, in better places?" She wiggled her eyebrows at Eridan suggestively.

Eridan blushed even harder, his ears turned bright red, "F-Fef! I wwill not havve this discussion wwith you! Wwe wwere drunk! It's not like that!" He fiddled with his oversized shirt nervously, and added quietly, "but I guess I'll havve to see him again, because I havve his sunglasses."

"Yes! There we go! Text him now, but act cool about it!" Feferi bounced a little on the bed in excitement.

Eridan grabbed his phone, "but I swwear Fef, if it's super awwkwward an he tells me that it only happened because wwe wwere both so drunk an he doesn't actually like me in any wway an makes me look like an idiot," his words rushed out of his mouth in a garbled, unpausing mess, "I'm gunna blame you because you're the one wwho's pushin' me to do this." He quickly began typing a text with shaking hands, after pressing 'send' he looked over at Feferi, "wwhat should I wwear?"

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux Captor could not handle alcohol. He was the lightest of lightweights, and last night he had tried to keep up with Eridan.

Another bout of mustard-yellow vomit forced itself out of Sollux's mouth. He shook violently as he flushed the toilet for the seventh time that morning. Sollux had gone to bed feeling nothing but confident about not being sick, so it came as quite the surprise when he woke up at about 7am feeling as if he was going to explode. He had barely made it into the bathroom before he began throwing up, cursing loud enough to wake Karkat up.

"Kill me, KK. Jutht fucking thmash my head againtht the toilet until I'm dead." He complained weakly.

Karkat stood in the doorway holding a phone at arms length above Sollux, he returned the phone to his own ear, "as you can hear, Sollux is too unwell to come in today... Yes... Alright cheers-"

"Are you letting my fucking work lithen to me being thick!?" Sollux shouted into the toilet bowl, "I'll kill you KK!"

Karkat stuck his middle finger up and continued his conversation with Sollux's boss, "yeah I know, mhm. Alright then, he'll get in contact with you as soon as he gets over this bug... Okay, you too, Bye." Karkat hung up the phone, and frowned at Sollux, "your boss said to stop being such a little pussy."

Sollux wretched and coughed, but thankfully nothing came out, "you're an ath and I hate you."

Karkat leant against the doorframe and crossed his arms, "hey, you're lucky to have such a good friend, I could've very easily dobbed you in and told them you're actually nursing a fucking hangover, but I didn't. I lied for you, and you're welcome."

Sollux groaned loudly and took a sip of the water Karkat had brought him, "I feel like complete shit."

"You look like it too. You shouldn't have been so fucking cocky. You know your limits, come on!"

"I'm too methed up to even think of a retort, but retht assured if I could think of one, it would've been thcaving and full of burnth for you." Sollux returned his attention to the toilet as his body tensed again.

Karkat rolled his eyes and stretched out his leg, awkwardly rubbing Sollux's back with his foot, "there you go, even though you're dying to insult me, here I am offering you nothing but kindness. Look how I'm comforting you like a best friend should."

Sollux's body heaved as he gagged, but his stomach was completely empty, so he just sat there shivering.

"You're a fucking idiot, Sollux." Karkat muttered; Sollux looked up at him sadly, a small yellow splatter on his cheek. Karkat rolled his eyes and walked over to the sink, he grabbed a washcloth and held it under the warm water. After wringing most of the water out, he knelt next to Sollux, "come here you little shit." He said gently, bringing the damp flannel up to Sollux's face, "you still need a shower, though. You fucking stink."

"I know," Sollux accepted the cleaning gratefully, and he patted Karkat's arm, "thankth."

"Oh shut up." Karkat snapped. When he thought that his friend looked clean enough, he held Sollux's nose, "blow."

Sollux complied, and nearly popped an eardrum in the process. When Karkat pulled the washcloth away, it was covered in yellow stains, "well that would exthplain why I could thmell vomit tho much." Sollux marveled in disgust.

"And it also explains why I find you so fucking revolting." Karkat grimaced, throwing the washcloth into the bathroom bin. "Well, today has already been jam-packed with fucking revelations, hasn't it?" He looked at Sollux, concern etched into his face, "you look alright now, though. Do you think you can go back to bed?"

"I'll try." Sollux stood up on wobbly legs, and began the short trip back to his room. He very slowly sat down on his beanbag, and plucked a shirt off the floor, wrapping it around himself like a very tiny blanket. He looked at the clock and saw that it was just before 9AM, but his world turned black as exhaustion took him.

-.-.-

When Sollux's phone went off, it was just before 1:30PM. He rubbed his eyes and looked down at the thin blanket that was draped over him; Sollux smiled as he realised that Karkat must have gotten it for him.

Sollux's muscles screamed as he stood up; he limped over to his bedside table to retrieve his phone and sunglasses, and he sighed angrily when he could only find his phone. Today was definitely not off to the best start. Sollux rummaged through his drawers and pulled out his thick and bulky, high school sunglasses.

After shoving the ugly glasses onto his face, he started to make his way downstairs. When Sollux passed through the living room, he didn't bother greeting Gamzee. He was sat on the couch, surrounded by a cloud of sweet and musky-smelling smoke; his face was painted, and he looked very mellow. Sollux was thankful that Gamzee didn't seem to recognise his presence; he was too hungover to have the patience to attempt to work out Gamzee's cryptic speech.

Karkat looked up from his magazine as Sollux entered the kitchen, "good morning sunshine, you're looking a bit better. Or at least, you don't look as shit as you did."

Sollux dropped onto a chair and pressed his head against the table, "I thtill feel like shit."

"Well you're not getting any sympathy off me, you've already gotten a years worth this morning." Karkat stated bluntly, watching Sollux pout, "oh for fucks sake. Fine, do you want me to get you anything?" He offered reluctantly.

"Honey loopth."

"Alright. But I'm only doing this for you because you look and sound so pathetic. Don't get used to it." Karkat stood up and began pottering around the cupboards.

Sollux lifted his head as a bowl and spoon were thrust in front of him, "thank you." He said with a small smile.

"Whatever. Here's your fucking honey loops. Took me forever to find them when I went shopping last, seeing as they changed the box." Karkat slammed the box of cereal and a carton of milk on the table, then sat back in his chair to continue reading his trashy magazine.

Sollux stared into the dead little eyes of the overly-cute cartoon bee that was now adorning his favourite box of cereal. "I hate thith new boxth, and I hate thith thtupid bee." He muttered, "thith bee can thuck my ath."

Karkat didn't look up, "you just hate change. You'll get used to it, you're a big boy."

"No I won't. I hate the fucker." Sollux considered jamming his spoon into the bee's face, but decided against it because he didn't want to risk damaging his beloved cereal. He opened the box and the bag, then smiled at the familiar contents. Sollux poured himself a small amount, worrying about upsetting his stomach, then he added a little milk. He sighed contently as he lifted the first spoonful to his lips, but his face dropped as he ate it.

"KK. They changed the fucking tathte." Sollux said numbly, his eyes searched the box; sure enough, there was a little piece of text next to that traitorous bee that read, 'new and improved recipe!'

Sollux stared at the bowl. His wonderful and perfect cereal was ruined, probably by some sort of cereal hating, corporate bastard that didn't want children to be happy, and to have a delicious honey-loop start to their day. He stood up and poured his uneaten bowl of cereal into the bin, and dropped the bowl and spoon into the sink.

Today really was a shit day.

He remembered that his phone had alerted him to a text, and he checked it; knowing that there wasn't much else that could make him feel worse today.

**'hey sollux hope your feelin alright today if you wwant to come ovver i havve your sunglasses for some reason'**

A tiny part of Sollux felt a little disappointed that Eridan hadn't called him 'Sol', as he had really gotten used to it after last night. He leant back a little against the kitchen worktops and thought about Eridan, wondering how the hipster felt about their little drunken escapade.

"You're smiling." Karkat's voice made Sollux jump.

"Tho? Aren't I allowed to thmile?" Sollux bristled defensively.

Karkat rolled his eyes and put his magazine down. "So what did Eridan text you about?"

Sollux spluttered for a moment in an attempt to buy himself some time to think of something witty to shout at Karkat, but failed miserably. "He'th got my glatheth, tho he athked if I wanted to pick them up." He admitted.

Karkat leant forwards a little, his eyes never leaving Sollux, "tell you what Sollux, why don't we talk about that lovely elephant who's been dying to get a little attention?" He sounded tired, "don't you think it's a bad idea to run over to his house after last night?"

"KK, I'm an adult, I can take care of mythelf." Sollux paused before adding, "I don't regret what happened latht night." He smiled again, feeling his chest tighten a little.

"Fuck, I hate being so right all the time." Karkat propped his head up with a hand, "I told you this would happen if you kept hanging around him. It's like you caught something off him."

"Don't give me that. You know that I really did hate him at the beginning of the week, but it wath more like a rivalry i gueth." Sollux scratched the back of his own neck, "but he'th not the thame ath he wath in highthchool, KK. He'th thtill a dramatic idiot who won't thtop talking, but he'th a better perthon now."

Karkat didn't say anything, he only raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, he thtayed up and lithened to me having a panic, and he didn't even rub it in my fathe or call me weak or anything. I don't know, I jutht think that he'th alright now." Sollux looked away. "That being thaid, and even though I had fun latht night I would've probably been pithed off if we had gone any further, tho yeah, thankth for thtopping me."

"While your shitty show of gratitude would usually be enough to satisfy my altruistic nature, I have to insist on an action on your part, to truly show how fucking thankful you are." Karkat's eyes seemed to glint menacingly as he brought his fingers together in a peak. "That's right Sollux. You know what I want."

Sollux groaned loudly in reply, "oh come on, you can't be theriouth, you really want me to-"

"That's right, Sollux." Karkat interrupted, "I want you to come to the cinema with me and watch My Love Returns."

Sollux made an exasperated noise, and looked at the ceiling. Then continued making the noise as he approached the table, and banged his head against it. He only stopped after he turned his head to the side and looked up at Karkat with pleading eyes, "I thought we were friendth."

"We are friends. We are the closest of close, best friends. We could be like a pair of kids from a 90s movie that high-five and hang out in tree houses, and laugh all the time because they're such bloody good chums." Karkat grinned, "and that's why you're so happy to do this for me."

Sollux narrowed his eyes and stood up, "fine. But jutht tho you know, I would never high-five you, becauthe you are a prick. In fact, I'd burn down the fucking tree houthe while you were in it."

Karkat shook his head and grinned, "such a charming young man, as usual." He wrinkled his nose a little, "word to the wise though, Sollux. You might want to shower now, as unbelievable as it sounds, you actually smell worse than you look."

Sollux decided that having a shower sounded like the best course of action. He pulled one last childish face at Karkat, and walked out of the kitchen backwards, shoving the index and middle finger on both hands in the air and waving them tauntingly. Karkat calmly raised both of his middle fingers, and pulled a horrific face too.

The living room was now thick with smoke, and Gamzee was lying on the floor stroking the carpet happily. Sollux stepped over him and ran upstairs before the stoner could even notice him.

After locking the bathroom door, Sollux decided to text Eridan back. He reread Eridan's text, and noticed that he had used the typing quirk that Feferi had told him about in high school. He grinned, and decided to use his, hoping just a little bit to confuse Eridan with it.

**'thank2, ii wa2 lookiing for tho2e, ju2t giive me 2ome tiime two have a 2hower fiir2t. 2ee you later.'**

He grinned and put the phone on top of the radiator. Then he quickly stripped and jumped into the bathtub, turning the taps as he did. Cool water sprayed him in the face as the shower fixture came on, the water took a few seconds to warm up. Sollux began scrubbing his body with his generic-smelling shower gel, happy that the sour smell of bile was leaving him. He also washed his hair with the same product, his reasoning being that it was all the same shit really.

After washing everything off, he decided that he would use a small amount of Karkat's conditioner; after all, he was about to hang out with the king of hair perfection, and he didn't want to look too shit.

Sollux smiled a little as he finished his shower.

Wearing only a short, black towel, Sollux kicked his dirty clothes along the floor as he walked to his room. When he opened the door, he picked up his clothes with his toes and dropped them into the dirty laundry hamper.

His phone lit up and buzzed in his hand.

**'wwell come round wwhenevver you wwant its not like i givve a fuckin shit or anythin**

**but i dont havve any plans today asides from drawwin so any times good wwith me**

**see you soon'**

Sollux grinned stupidly, and reread the text twice before looking for some clean clothes to wear.

-.-.-.-

Eridan looked up from his sketchpad as his phone chimed. He picked it up and read the text with a frown and a playful smile.

**'whatever a22hole, ii only want two get my gla22e2 back or ii'd never even dream of comiing over.**

**but yeah, 2ee you iin a biit'**

When Eridan got the first text back, he had struggled to understand the quirk; thankfully Feferi hadn't left yet, and could explain it to him as she remembered Sollux using it all those years ago. Eridan found it quite endearing that Sollux also had a quirk, as he thought that it was only himself and Feferi that still used theirs.

Eridan sighed as he picked up a light blue pencil, the only thing he could do now was wait.


	25. Honey Loops

Sollux yawned as he waited on Eridan's doorstep. The sun was criminally bright, and his old sunglasses didn't block the hideous light very effectively. He could hear Eridan making an arse of himself trying to unlock the door, and he smirked.

The door swung open and the smirk was wiped clean off Sollux's face.

Eridan stood tall, looking slightly disheveled but still the very image of perfection. Sollux drank in every detail of him; the faded denim skinny jeans, the short-sleeved fitted mauve shirt with it's shiny buttons, the lack of any rings on his hands, and the black socks. Sollux held back a laugh, he expected Eridan to sleep in a pair of perfect little shoes.

"Are you comin' in, or are you enjoyin' my shitty garden?" Eridan asked, one of his eyebrows arching upwards.

"Why aren't you wearing any shoeth?" Sollux laughed as he climbed the steps, wiping his own feet on the doormat before stepping over the threshold.

Eridan scoffed as he stood aside for him, "well, that would be because nobody is allowed to wear shoes in my house. So take yours off." After closing the door, his hands went firmly on his hips. Sollux noticed that the fingers were covered in colourful smudges.

Sollux rolled his eyes and kicked his shoes off in the general direction of the shoe rack, which earned him a small shriek from Eridan, "there, happy? Now, where are my fu-" Sollux's words caught in his throat as he looked at Eridan. He pulled his sunglasses down a little and tilted his head downwards to get a better look at Eridan's face. "Holy fuck."

"What? What the fuck are you lookin' at?" Eridan huffed defensively, subconsciously bringing a hand up to his own face.

"Your eyeth, ED." Sollux pushed his glasses back into position, "they're blue."

"Oh." Eridan blinked a few times, not knowing how to react, "well you didn't think they were naturally fuckin' purple did you? I mean, I'm glad you did, but... You didn't ever question it?"

Sollux didn't reply, he stared into the bright blue eyes that had lied to him for so long. "They've alwayth been purple, I jutht never gave enough of a shit to athk." He muttered; now that he thought about it, violet eyes _did_ seem a little farfetched, but he couldn't believe that he never thought about it.

Eridan looked around nervously, "wwell wwhy don't wwe get you those sunglasses, an then maybe I can get you a cup of tea or somethin'?" He quickly spun on his heel and strode into living room, with Sollux following closely behind.

"Why are they blue now?" Sollux inquired, obviously unhappy to let the subject drop. He heard Eridan make an exasperated noise, but he ignored it in favour of glancing around the immaculate room.

The three-seater and two-seater sofas were made of plush chocolatey brown leather, as was the armchair. There was a small glass coffee table, currently peppered in Eridan's gold rings, and a gigantic glass tank that covered half of one wall. Sollux looked at Eridan, and was about to repeat the question when he noticed that Eridan was staring intently at a large box of perfectly organised pencils on the table, lifting two almost indistinguishable blue pencils up. After about fifteen seconds, he finally slid them into their correct places in the box, sighing contently, before replacing the lid. "Sorry about that, Sollux, I had to make sure they were in the proper place. Now, you asked me about my eyes being blue?" He stood up again and smiled, "they've always been blue, I just... Wear contacts to make them look purple. I've done it ever since I was about fourteen." He waved a hand as if this was completely normal.

"Okay, but that doesn't exthplain why they're blue _now_." Sollux asked, getting a little frustrated.

Eridan grinned a little peevishly, "I _might've_ fallen asleep with my last pair in when I got home. And they _may_ have kind of dried up a bit. I'll tell you what, I had to peel those fuckers off like you would'nt even believe." He shrugged, then added, "I'm waiting for some new ones to come in the post."

Sollux shook his head, he knew Eridan was vain, but to wear contacts every day to hide his naturally nice-looking eyes was just too much. He sat down on the two seater sofa, and looked at the closed sketchbook on the coffee table, "whatever. Hey can I have a look at your drawingth?" He asked lightly, curious to see what Eridan's work was like.

"No, you bloody can not!" Eridan huffed, his cheeks turning a little pink, "nothin' in here is worth lookin' at, well asides from some a the _coloured_ pieces, but still! There's a lot a shit in there too!" He resisted the urge to throw the book out of the window to stop Sollux from seeing it, feeling very self-conscious.

"Alright, Jethuth tap-danthing Chritht Eridan, I wath only athking! I won't look!" Sollux quickly began formulating a plan of how to get Eridan to leave the room so he could look.

This sudden outburst seemed to satisfy Eridan and he nodded, "good. Yes, well, it's personal. You should be much more delicate when askin' to see someone's art. Anyway, come have a look at this." He offered, turning his attention to the fishtank with a smile.

Sollux's knees popped as he stood up; he joined Eridan at the fishtank, and bent a little to peer inside. The water was crystal-clear, and it appeared to house a plethora of amazingly colourful fishes, which all swam around energetically. He listened as Eridan began pointing them out and explaining their various Latin names, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something small and white peeking out from some sort of plant.

"Oh! Look!" Eridan squeaked happily, "there he is, there's my little Barbossa!"

The little seahorse swam out, it was gorgeous and delicate looking, and even Sollux smiled a little at it's appearance, "he'th pretty cool."

"He's better than cool." Eridan sniffed indignantly, "he's my pride and joy, aren't you?" He ran a finger soundlessly down the glass, smiling.

They stood together for a few more minutes; Eridan spoke relentlessly about his beloved fish, and to his credit, Sollux listened the entire time. Finally Eridan stopped, "shit, I've been rude, can I get you a cup of tea? Coffee?"

Sollux straightened, and considered it for a moment, "yeah, I'll have a coffee, one sugar, tiny bit of milk. Cheerth." He smiled.

Eridan nodded, "alright, wait here, I'll be back in a minute." He left, whispering Sollux's coffee description under his breath.

This was the moment he had been waiting for; the second Eridan left and closed the door, Sollux grabbed the sketchbook and flopped onto the sofa, opening it gently to the first page. "Fuck." He whispered.

The woman on the first page glared out at him, her teeth bared in a wicked smile, he instantly recognised her as Vriska. Eridan had caught her expression perfectly; there was an unmistakably lifelike glint in those mean, blue eyes. He almost didn't want to turn the page, but he forced himself to, excited to see what else there was. He found himself unable to breathe as he pored over every picture, the pages held the most beautiful sketches he had ever seen, each one so flawless and realistic. He could only blink and occasionally swear, as he looked at every new page; not daring to touch anything more than the corner of the pages for fear of tainting the drawings.

It appeared as though humans; especially faces, expressions and poses were Eridan's strong points, as these were all coloured and some even inked. It became obvious that Eridan wasn't proficient at drawing everything though, as there were a few atrociously badly drawn animals hiding on a few pages. These had been crossed out angrily with thick, black pen lines. Sollux couldn't help but chuckle at them, it was quite comical to see something so badly executed after the perfection of the previous drawings.

Sollux's grin fell as he turned to one of the last pages, his breath froze in his chest and his fingers tingled. He recognised the young man in the sketch; the awkward half-smile, the slightly messed up hair, the gorgeously coloured blue and brown eyes. Those mismatched eyes looked so beautiful on paper. It was obviously a quick memory drawing, but it was good. It was _bloody_ good. It was so good that Sollux could hardly believe that it was drawn from memory. His breath escaped him in a sudden and loud 'whoosh', and he stared at the eyes that were looking off at something else slightly to the right. He finally felt the doubt ebb away; he had always thought that Eridan was humouring him when he complimented his eyes, but now he could finally believe that Eridan saw them as something worth drawing, something worth spending time over, something worth-

"Wwhat the fuck are you doin'?"

Sollux froze, he hadn't heard Eridan open the door. He turned his head to the side, but couldn't come up with an excuse.

Eridan was biting his own lip, a look of pure betrayal etched into his features. He slowly approached Sollux and placed the two mugs onto the table. "Wwell? Wwould you care to explain wwhy you're lookin' at that wwhen I told you not to?" He demanded, his voice quite and low.

Sollux placed the sketchbook gently on the empty seat next to him; he stood up quickly, grabbing Eridan into a rough hug, "shut up, dick-fathe." He muttered. Sollux felt Eridan straighten for a second, not quite understanding what was happening.

"S-Sollux, wwhat are you doin'?" Eridan enquired, as his hands hovered over Sollux's back. "Am I missin' somethin' here? This isn't gunna stop be from bein' any less bloody pissed at you, you knoww."

"I said shut up." Sollux laughed, pressing his face against the crook of Eridan's neck. "Thankth, ED."

Eridan finally slid his arms around Sollux's waist, "alright then, I guess wwe're huggin' noww?" He said, his voice full of confusion.

After awkwardly hugging for a minute or so, they finally pulled apart. "Thorry, I shouldn't have looked." Sollux tried making himself look as innocent as possible, "they're all really good though. The one of me ith amathing."

Eridan quickly pressed his hands over his ears, "lalala, I'm not fuckin' listenin'! Don't talk about my art, lalala, grab the mugs an come to the kitchen, lalafuckin'la!" He quickly left the room, still shouting noises all the way down the hall.

Sollux grabbed the mugs and used his foot to open the door. He followed the corridor, and stepped into the kitchen, where he saw Eridan pulling bowls from a cupboard. "Tho, what are you doing?" Sollux asked as he set the mugs down on the small kitchen table.

Eridan turned around carrying a bowl and spoon in each hand, "well I just realised I haven't eaten yet today, and I'm fuckin' starved." He paused, and looked at the bowls, "I probably shoulda asked you if you wanted somethin' before I got you a bowl down." Eridan looked at Sollux sheepishly, "well, would you like to eat some cereal with me?"

After the fiasco with the Honey Loops that morning, Sollux was hardly in the mood to have his heart broken again, but what else could possibly go wrong with the cereal world? The Coco Pop monkey being changed into a fucking cat? _Not on his fucking watch._ That being said, he _was_ starved, "yeah sure, what kind do you eat?" Sollux narrowed his eyes, it was probably some sort of stupid, organic crap made out of parsnips and carrots.

"Oh, well I have quite literally everythin', come an look." Eridan pulled Sollux's wrist and led him to a double cupboard, opening one side to reveal shelves filled with vacuum-seal plastic tubs. "Those are all different types a cereal, I should probably label them, but Fef empties them so fuckin' quickly I never get a chance to. So, yeah, choose whatever you want." He left Sollux to have a look as he went to get the milk.

Sollux pulled the boxes out one-by-one, only opening the ones he didn't recognise, he grinned when he found one filled with granola. It wasn't even the kind with the chocolate bits in it, typical hipster. Eridan wasn't lying when he said he had everything though, there were more types than Sollux could even name, but one box caught his eye.

The clear container was filled with the treacherous Honey Loops; Sollux removed it from the shelf with a sneer, "hey ED, what did you think of the bee they put on the Honey Loop boxth?" He asked, shaking the tub angrily.

"What bee? Are you talkin' about some knock-off brand or somethin'?" Eridan replied, "because I only buy the real deal with cereals, me an Fef can taste the difference."

Sollux wrinkled his nose, "no, the real oneth have a fucking cartoony ball-bag of a bee on the front. _You_ mutht be buying the knock-offth, ED."

Eridan stormed past the fridge and opened a narrow door, he stepped inside, and returned a few seconds later with a box of Honey Loops. "Where's the fucking bee, you prat?" He asked as he turned the box to show all of the sides, and Sollux nearly wept.

"Thothe, thothe are the old Honey Loopth!" He exclaimed, grabbing them out of Eridan's hands and cradling them to his chest along with the half-filled tub.

"I didn't realise they changed them, but I haven't bought any in weeks, I just stockpile whenever I'm runnin' low. Here, look." Eridan motioned for Sollux to look in his pantry.

The pantry was full of food, and Sollux's mouth dropped open as he peeked in. The shelves were covered in various cans and boxes, but cereal took up half of the stock, there had to be five or six boxes of each type. "Oh my fuck!" Sollux shouted as he saw four more boxes of his beloved Honey Loops on a low shelf; quickly gathering them in his arms as if they were his children, and hugging them protectively.

"You alright there?" Eridan asked, taking a step closer.

"Yeth I fucking am!" Sollux hunched over his loot and waddled out of the pantry, gently laying the boxes on the table, and staring breathlessly at them.

"Do they really mean that much to you? It's just Honey Loops." Eridan raised an eyebrow and smiled, thinking that Sollux's display was quite sweet.

Sollux sat down and lovingly stood each box up, "thith morning KK gave me thome Honey Loopth and they were dithguthting. They changed the rethipe, and they put a fucking wank-thtain of a bee on the boxth." He said bitterly, "but you have the old oneth, the good oneth. I'm having breakfatht here every day until they run out." Sollux turned to look at Eridan; an arm hooked around the boxes protectively.

"You _can_ take them home with you, if you want to." Eridan smiled, "if they really mean that much to you, then take them." He shrugged, and turned to choose something for himself.

Eridan nearly screamed when he felt Sollux grab him, his mouth fell open and his eyebrows shot up as Sollux's arms wrapped themselves around his chest. "S-Sol, wwhat are you-"

Sollux's voice was quiet, his face was pressed against the back of Eridan's head, "I hate change, ED. I fucking hate change, and I hate not being able to prepare mythelf for thomething that'th going to dithappear forever. You can't underthtand what you've jutht done for me." He squeezed Eridan a little, their bodies pressed together, "thank you. Thith actually meanth a fuck-load."

Eridan's face turned pink, he struggled to find any words, and it took him a moment to compose himself, "you're wwelcome Sol, but you know that they'll run out too. You're goin' to have to face a Honey Loop-less world eventually."

"Yeah, but I know that it'th coming now, and thith way, I can deal with it in my own time." After a pause, Sollux added, "tho shut up." He finally let Eridan go, and sat down, pouring himself a bowl of Honey Loops from the open container.

Eridan cleared his throat before grabbing the granola, "yes wwell, I guess I can understand that." He sat at the table and poured himself some milk, smiling at Sollux.

Sollux's own smile disappeared as he grabbed the carton off Eridan, "what the fuck are you doing?" He poured milk on top of his Honey Loops, never taking his eyes off Eridan's bowl of milk.

"This is how I eat cereal." Eridan muttered, as he tipped a small amount of granola into the milk.

Sollux sighed a little with happiness when he ate the first spoonful. With a mouth full of food, he narrowed his eyes, "thith ith fucking deliciouth. And you're an idiot."

"It stops it from gettin' fuckin' soggy!" Eridan huffed, "i just add a little bit more to the bowl every time I finish what I eat!"

Sollux rolled his eyes, "what the fuck ith wrong with you? You're thuppothed to tilt the bowl tho you can control what'th in the milk. Then ath you eat the thereal, more fallth into the milk and shit. It'th all about phythicth my friend." Sollux turned his nose up, "what you're trying to do ith play God."

"I don't tell you how to live your life!" Eridan scolded. They continued to eat in silence, glaring at eachother with playful smirks.

Sollux tilted his head side to side happily and tapped his feet as he ate. He looked into Eridan's bowl, "what are you eating anyway?"

"Uhh, some sort of multigrain granola shit, it's pretty good."

Sollux's nostrils flared, "multigrain my ath!" He jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out and stared at the screen, "heh, lookth like KK hath thtarted to mith me. He'th athking if I've done my homework athignment. And wouldn't you know it, I have not."

Eridan rested his chin on of his hands, "I guess you'll be going then?" He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

"I can come round again whenever you want," Sollux offered, finishing his bowl of Honey Loops with a very satisfied look. "I wouldn't mind coming over again thoon." He held Eridan's gaze and shrugged.

"Well, I'll be happy to have you over whenever, maybe next time I'll cook you something instead of just feedin' you this shit." Eridan grinned. He was about to start packing up when Sollux reached out a hand, and pulled him into a kiss.

Their lips met gently, and Eridan instantly melted, sighing as his chest fluttered. He had purposefully avoided the subject of the night before, just in case Sollux couldn't remember what they had done, but this settled his nerves.

They pulled apart, and Sollux grinned, "shit, lookth like we're thtuck with eachother." After a breif pause, he added, "maybe I should've athked you in latht night."

"Fuckin' hell Sol, I'm gunna give you cereal more often!" Eridan mumbled, his cheeks bright pink. "But what do you mean 'stuck with eachother'? You're fuckin' privileged to have me interested in you like this!"

Sollux snorted, "yeah, yeah, courthe I am, ED." He leant forwards and pressed his lips against Eridan's once again, "but I'm like a thtray cat, you've fed me, now I won't leave you." He laughed again, and Eridan couldn't help but laugh with him.

Eridan began tidying up while Sollux wrote a text to Karkat, he put the five boxes of Honey Loops into a carrier bag, and handed them over, "you can have all of them, but this one," he held up the airtight container, "will stay here, for the next time you come over."

"Deal. Hey, are you going to show me to the door like a gentleman?" Sollux stood and left the room with a grin to retreive his shoes. Eridan followed, afterall, he _was_ a gentleman.

"Hey Sol, thanks for comin' over." Eridan said as he passed Sollux and grabbed a pair of sunglasses from top of the key-hook next to the front door. He stepped closer to Sollux and hooked a finger around the bulky glasses he was wearing and pulled them from his face. "Here, these ones are nicer anyway." Eridan pressed both pairs of sunglasses into Sollux's hands, and stared into his eyes.

Sollux held Eridan's gaze with a new confidence, he smiled and nodded, allowing Eridan to get a good look at his eyes before putting his newer glasses on, "you know, ED, your real eyeth look better than your contactth." He opened the front door, then turned back to Eridan. They shared one last kiss, that seemed to make the whole world crumble.

"Damn it Sol, what are you doin' to me?" Eridan muttered with fake annoyance when he pulled away.

"Nothing at all today, ED. But maybe I'll come back in the week..?" Sollux hid behind his bag as Eridan slapped his arm.

"Sollux, don't assume that shit about me! Fuck, you'll talk your wway outta evverythin' I'll evver be wwillin' to do!" Eridan scolded, trying to keep his expression as serious as possible. He frowned as Sollux kissed his forehead and left.

"I'll textht you later, and maybe we can arrange to hang out again?" He called from Eridan's gate.

"Fuck off, you bell-end." Eridan replied, smiling. He grinned like a child as he watched Sollux wave and walk away, then he closed the door and locked it, checking it three times, before running to his phone to give Feferi a call.

Sollux barely restrained himself from either skipping or screaming; his chest felt as though it would burst, and he felt happier than he had done in months. Nothing could drag him down from this high. Nothing.

When a familiar voice called out, he nearly broke. Within the space of a second his stomach sank and his body went numb.

"Sollux? Is that you?"


	26. Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God, I accidentally double-posted one chapter, and forgot to upload this one D: I'm so sorry! I'm rearranging the order, and hopefully it'll make sense now! Sorry guys

Sollux turned and looked across the road at the person who had called him. He wished that he had just carried on walking and ignored them, but he couldn't help himself. A car drove between them, and Sollux just kept staring. He prided himself on having a pretty good poker face, which was fortunate because his mind was a swirling mess of chaos; he could hear two distinct voices telling him to take two very different courses of action, and the worst thing was that they both made sense to him.

_'Run, get out of here, go home or go to Eridan's.'_ The first voice was urgent, the tone demanding.

_'No, stay! This is everything we wanted!'_ This voice was smooth, and it sounded so excited.

_'Eridan's house is so close, just fucking go.'_ The warning was clear and Sollux tried desperately to listen to it.

_'Look at her! She's back! She's right here!'_ Shut up.

_'Don't look back, Eridan will make you forget all about her. He did it before, he can do it again.'_ This voice made a good point, maybe he _could_ just go, Eridan would make everything better, Eridan would understand, Eridan-

_'Who are you kidding? Did you ever_ _**really** _ _believe that five years could be forgotten so quickly? Did you ever_ _**really** _ _stop thinking about her, did you ever even stop lovi-'_

"Hi Aradia." Sollux finally spoke, and the voices were silenced.

If Aradia noticed the lack of her nickname, she didn't show it. Her face erupted into a wide smile, and she hurried across the road to stand with him, "I just _knew_ it was you, Sollux dear!"

Her voice alone made Sollux's chest burn with affection and hatred; he loathed her for speaking to him, because everything he had worked so hard at, all the hours he spent trying to erase her from his memory were wasted. At the same time he was so happy that she had spoken to him, he had wanted this to happen so badly, he had dreamt of it. He wanted to forget, he wanted his old life back, he just wanted to make it all go away.

"How are you?" He asked coolly, swallowing the fury, and also the manic glee. Sollux wanted to seem casual, and screaming in her face seemed like a pretty stupid idea.

"I was heading over to an old friend's house, we got back in contact a little while ago, so that's nice." She continued to smile, her red lips looking shiny and inviting. "So how are you?"

Sollux's mind buzzed with hideously scathing retorts, _'oh well, since you fucked me over, I've been shit! I haven't been sleeping or eating properly, and don't get me started on the fact I can't trust anyone anymore. How the fuck do you think I've been doing, you stupid cu-'_

"I'm alright. I've been... Preoccupied with my programming and work, I've actually been with a friend today." Sollux avoided using any 'S' words, he didn't want her to hear him lisp; in his mind that was a sign of his own weakness, and he couldn't allow her to hear him like that. He was also careful to hold himself back from saying something he might regret.

"Good! It's nice to see you looking so well." She touched his arm gently, "oh! Before I forget!" Aradia began searching through her small shoulder bag, she pulled out a pen and grabbed Sollux's free hand. She proceeded to scrawl a number on the palm, "I got a new phone, so here's my new number. If you send me a message, we could arrange to go out for drinks if you want? I know _I'd_ love to, it would give us a chance to catch up."

Sollux stared at the number, his skin tingling wonderfully in the place she had touched. "Sure. I'll do it when I get in."

Aradia nodded, she looked down and shuffled her feet a little. After a moment's hesitation she leant forwards and wrapped her arms around Sollux's neck, standing on tip-toes as she pulled him into a hug. Sollux instantly dropped his bag and hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head; he could feel her breath ghosting against his neck as she tilted her face up. Sollux held onto her almost desperately; one half of his mind wanting to throw her into the road, and the other praying that she would never let go and leave again.

His arms fit around her so naturally, it felt so right; he swallowed a lump in his throat as he was hit with a brick of nostalgia and longing. In that moment every mistake was forgotten and brushed away, she infected every one of his senses and his body screamed for her. It was almost as if the last few months never happened; she had never betrayed him, she had never hurt him, she had never left him a broken fucking mess.

Aradia pulled away, and Sollux hesitantly let her go. She beamed up at him cheerfully, "it's been wonderful seeing you, Sollux. Unfortunately I'm already late so I had better get going, but I'll see you later."

"Yeah, alright." Sollux nodded, and turned to leave, "later, Aradia." He began walking away; his calm facade was so hard to keep up with his heart thumping as heavily as it was at that moment.

"Sollux darling? You forgot your bag."

He spun around and saw Aradia picking his bag up off the floor, he quickly stepped closer to her and reached for it. She handed it to him, and her fingers stroked his as she pulled away. Sollux felt guilty for forgetting the present that Eridan had given him so easily, but with Aradia standing in front of him, the cereal just seemed so trivial and- _'no! Don't you_ _ **dare**_ _! Don't you fucking dare!'_ Sollux scolded himself furiously.

"Goodbye Sollux." Aradia flashed one last grin, then turned away to walk in the direction he had came from. Sollux was unable to pull his gaze away from her until she was out of sight, he sighed, and stood for a moment feeling nothing but confusion and self loathing.

-.-.-.-.-

Karkat was sat on the couch wearing his favourite dressing gown; it was fluffy as hell, and quite possibly the most comfortable thing in the world. He paused the movie he was watching when heard the front door slam shut, "Sollux? That you?" He called out, turning his head towards the kitchen.

Sollux kicked his shoes off, and didn't bother moving them from wherever they landed. He grumbled the entire way over to Karkat and flopped down at his side. "don't look at me KK, I'm feeling conflicted and I'm not in the mood." He muttered, resting his head against the arm of the sofa miserably.

"Was Eridan's house really that bad? I thought you was having fun seeing as you was gone for so fucking long," Karkat tilted his head and frowned, "what the hell happened?"

"Aradia."

Karkat's eyes widened, his eyebrows furrowed and he wriggled a little closer to Sollux, "shit! Are you okay? Did she see you?"

"Yeah and yeah," Sollux hesitated, he didn't want to keep any secrets from his best friend, but he actually felt ashamed of himself for how he had acted when he saw Aradia. He tried to blame it on the shock and the fact he hadn't seen her in so long, but that wasn't completely true. "I thaw her on the way home, and she thaid hey. It'th fine, I'm fine."

"Alright, but if you're _not_ fine you _can_ tell me Sollux, remember, I've seen you at your fucking worst. You can trust me, I'm sure as hell not going to judge you if you need to have a rant or something." Karkat's words were genuine, "if you're feeling frustrated or pissed, or sad, I don't fucking know, we can go do something. Fuck the homework, you have my full attention... I'll even turn off my film for you."

Sollux snorted and leant his head back against the sofa cushions, "wow, jethuth KK, calm down there. That'th like an admission of undying love for me coming from you, and that'th a commitment I don't think I can deal with." He rubbed the back of his own neck and sighed, "I'm actually alright, you know. I feel like I'm in an okay plathe. That'th not to thay I won't feel like abtholute shit later, but that'th a problem for future me." He shrugged and grinned, "I'll be sure to come to you weeping manly tearth when my inevitable crash happenth though."

"Manly tears, yeah, sure. You'll be weeping with the force of a thousand orphaned kittens, and I'll have the fucking man-sized tissues there to wipe your disgusting face with." Karkat rolled his eyes, making a mental note to himself to keep an eye out for any subtle signs that Sollux was on a downwards spiral. He opened his mouth to speak when he noticed what Sollux had carried in, "what's in the bag? Did you go shopping or some shit?"

A small smile tugged at Sollux's lips, "no, Eridan gave me thome _real_ Honey Loopth." He pulled a box out to show Karkat, "theeing ath the oneth you got me tathted like an old, wet dog'th athhole."

"Okay, one, that's disgusting. Even for you. You've stepped over the line there. In fact, you've gone round the entire world, returned to the line, taken a shit on it, then stepped back over it. That's how fucking far you've gone." Karkat appreciated the fact that Sollux took his long-winded insults with a nice handful of good sportsmanship, "and two, the ones I bought were perfectly fine! Why did you need to go raid Eridan's fucking house for some... And why does he have so many fucking boxes anyway?"

Sollux shrugged, "He thaid that him and FF eat a fuck-tonne of thereal tho he buyth it in bulk. Look, I'm not going to quethtion it, he gave me enough Honey Loopth to latht me at leatht a week."

Karkat shook his head, "I swear you've got a problem. If I walk in on you trying to snort them or something I'm not going to be impressed... Or surprised for that matter." He watched his best friend, noticing his small smile, "so what did you do round Eridan's? What's his place like?"

"I only really thaw the living room and kitchen, but he'th pretty organithed and thtuff. It'th a nithe plathe." Sollux began tracing the logo on the box with a finger.

"You didn't answer my other question, what did you two _do_?" Karkat raised one of his eyebrows.

"Oh fuck off, KK. We ate thereal, he showed me his fish... ACTUAL FISH THAT'TH NOT AN INNUENDO!" Sollux wanted to slap the smirk right off Karkat's face, "I looked at hith drawingth... Did you know that he could draw? He'th really fucking good!"

Karkat felt himself smile, he hadn't seen Sollux get excited in this way in a long time, not since he bought that fucking ring. "Yeah, he never really showed anyone his art, but he let me look at a few pieces. Don't you remember that painting of the stormy pirate battle thing that was hanging up in the artroom in highschool? He didn't let a lot of people know, but that was one of his final pieces for a project he did."

Sollux's mouth dropped open, "that thing was amathing! Why didn't anyone tell me that Eridan painted it!? I would've..." He was about to say that he would have complimented Eridan, but he knew that wasn't true.

"You would've made fun of it to his face, and you fucking know it. He was already so damn self-deprecating, he would've ripped it off the wall and set it on fire in front of everyone." Karkat snickered a little, "then you both would've started a fist fight, and there would have been pandemonium. It was easier just to let you think he was a talentless little shit. Same with him, he didn't know you was a little genius. You both like to hit where it hurts most, and for both of you it's pride and self hatred."

"Shit." Sollux pressed his thumb against the sealed flap of the cereal box, knowing that everything Karkat was saying was true. In fact, he probably would have drawn a multitude of dicks all over the painting if he had known Eridan had produced it.

"So, are you two going to be hanging out more?" Karkat asked, watching Sollux carefully. The reaction he was looking for happened instantly, and wasn't in the least bit subtle.

Sollux's cheeks turned a pink, and he pulled a face, "maybe."

Karkat laughed loudly, kicking his legs and covering his face with a hand, "you awkward little shit bag! I can't believe that you're actually trying to not tell me! Oh my god, Sollux, if we weren't best friends I would have slapped you by now." He calmed down a little, and crossed his arms, "so when will I be expecting to hear the stuttering, lisping little shrieks of your hideous offspring? I think nine months is the norm for humans, but I'm not a doctor, damn it."

"Oh pith the fuck off, KK. We're not... Well we _are_... I gueth we're kind of together, but we only really implied it, we didn't actually _athk_ eachother..." Sollux rubbed the back of his neck again, a little more nervously. "But it theemed like he wantth to, I mean, I want to, I _think_ we are..."

"Fuck me sideways, Sollux, you're fucking adorable! I haven't seen you get this flustered since-" Karkat caught himself before he put his foot in it and brought Aradia back up, "hey, why don't you go talk to your hipster friend and find out if you're boyfriends yet, so that you can write 'Sollux Ampora' all over your little school books?" He hoped that Sollux hadn't caught his near slip.

Sollux stood up, stretching, and tried to look as casual and nonchalant as possible. "Maybe I will." He ruffled Karkat's hair as he walked past to get to the stairs, "good talk, KK. We should do it again thome time."

Karkat patted Sollux's hand before he could move away, "fuck off and let me watch my movie. It was getting to a good bit."

"Thuck my ballth!" Sollux shouted as he climbed the stairs two at a time. He thought about Eridan, and felt his face grow hot again. When he got to his bedroom he closed the door, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. After hiding his stash of beloved Honey Loops under his bed, Sollux glanced down at his hand and looked at Aradia's phone number. He decided that he would wash it off, he wanted to destroy it along with the tainted memories of her.

Sollux smiled as he typed Eridan a message, biting his lip a little with nerves.

**'hey ED, ii've deciided iin my iinfiinate genero2iity two take you out for a coffee, iit'll be my treat for once. How doe2 thii2 wedne2day 2ound two you?'**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Wednesday came around, Sollux felt a little trepidation. He had been looking forward to this day since Sunday night, and now that it was here, he felt a little anxious that he might fuck things up.

He was sat in a corner of a small cafe, watching the door patiently. The shop was small and cosy, exactly the sort of place a hipster like Eridan would love. It wasn't too busy, so the atmosphere was quite enjoyable; even for a socially inept person like Sollux.

He stirred his drink just to keep his hands busy. Sollux hadn't stepped foot in this coffee shop in months, he used to hang out in it all the time so it was an outside place that he knew well enough to feel marginally comfortable in.

Sollux jumped as he saw his guest arrive, and he casually waved them over; feeling secretly pleased that he had already ordered them their favourite drink.

"Hello, Sollux."

"Hi Aradia."

They smiled warmly at eachother, and Aradia sat down in the seat opposite Sollux, "thank you for getting me a drink! You're so sweet." She lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip, "it's delicious. So how is everything?" She leant forwards and rested her chin on her hand, looking as though she was listening intently.

"Good, I went to college and had an early finish. How are you?" He was still careful to look out for his 'S' words.

"Oh, same old, same old. I've been busy as anything with work and class, well you understand of course! I'm glad you agreed to meet me for a coffee though, I love this place." She looked around wistfully.

Sollux nodded.

He had honestly tried to wash away the number that Sunday afternoon, but he had frozen with his hand on the bathroom tap; so many possibilities and hopeful desires were hanging on to that phone number, and in the end he couldn't get rid of it. He had sent Aradia a text just so that she had his number too, and from there, they started talking.

He felt incredibly guilty for cancelling the same plans with Eridan, but what else was he supposed to do? Wednesday was the day that Aradia had free, and Sollux only had a half day, so it made sense. After all, he and Eridan could go out for coffee any time.

The rest of the conversation was a little strained; it was as if they were both trying to recapture the feeling of comfort they once had with one another, they talked about their lives but made no mention about _why_ they hadn't seen eachother in so long. Sollux listened to Aradia speak about her classmates and how she had finally sorted out a place to live with a girl in her class. He resisted the urge to tell her about how he returned her book to the library for her, he couldn't bring it up, that would make him seem desperate. No, he still had a tiny sliver of pride somewhere; he was only talking to her because _she_ made the first move, he was only here because _she_ asked him to meet her.

As he listened to another one of Aradia's anecdotes, his mind began to wander. He didn't want to seem rude, but he felt the sudden urge to check his phone. Eridan hadn't text him at all today, and although that was something that would have given him pleasant dreams only a week ago, it now made him feel a little empty. Sollux and Eridan had been texting eachother constantly, it was mostly sarcastic, almost insulting banter, but Sollux enjoyed just hearing from him.

He looked down and saw that both of their mugs were empty, Sollux didn't even realise that he had been drinking his tea.

"Oh! would you like me to buy us both another drink?" Aradia asked, also noticing they had both finished.

Part of Sollux jumped at the offer, but he shook his head, "I _would_ , but I can't, I've got a load of work that I need to do." He shrugged.

"Oh, nevermind. Maybe I can treat us next time." She stood up as Sollux did, and gave him a hug, "it really was lucky that we saw eachother the other day, I'm so relieved that we are going out together like this. We _must_ do it again."

Sollux grinned a little, "sure. I'll catch you later, Aradia." He left her in the coffee shop, mixed feelings battling viciously inside of him. What the fuck was he supposed to do?

-.-.-.-.-

Eridan was considering taking a nap, he had only just gotten in from the library and was feeling a little pissed off. He had been looking forward to going out with Sollux for coffee, and had even chosen the perfect jumper-scarf combo to wear, but then he had gotten a text cancelling late Tuesday night.

He stared sadly at the ceiling, he knew he was getting a little worked up, but it wasn't fair. This was their first possible, maybe, date and Sollux had cancelled without even suggesting when they could next go out. "Fuck coffee. I'll nevver drink it evver again." He muttered angrily, not meaning a single word.

Just as he was getting comfortable, his phone buzzed. "Oh fuckin' hell." Eridan sat up and frowned as he grabbed it. He glared down at the screen, expecting some sort of further disappointment, and seeing as the text was from Vriska, it was probably going to put him in a hideous mood.

**'Hey Eridan. I looked out my window a little while ago and saw you coming home, and just as I was about to invite myself over, a 8oy turns up at your door! Who is he? :::;) I guess I'll leave you alone tonight, have fuuuuuuuun!'**

Eridan frowned as he read this, he hadn't heard a knock, maybe Vriska was just playing a joke on him. He decided that just today, he would humour her, and if she was bullshitting him then he could still flip her off from his doorstep. Eridan reached his door and unlocked it, swinging it open angrily and glaring at what he assumed would be another blow to his trust.

"SHIT! I didn't even knock yet! Why did you jump out at me!?" Sollux tried to compose himself as he struggled with his arms full of goodies.

"Wwhat the fuck are you doin' here? I just got a text off Vvris tellin' me I had some guy knockin' for me an I kind a came out to check," Eridan blinked a few times, and quickly stood aside for Sollux to come in, "I thought she was bee essin' me to be honest. Here, let me help you." He lifted the large, flat boxes from Sollux's arms.

Sollux looked a little sheepish, he held two bottles close to his chest, "I couldn't knock, I didn't have a hand free and I didn't want to put the food on the floor to knock, tho I wath thruggling out there." He closed the door behind himself.

Eridan looked down at what he was carrying and realised what they were, "pizza?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh shit, I didn't even think!" Sollux looked a little crestfallen, "I wanted it to be a thurprithe, I didn't even _think_ you might not like it. Fuck, thith ith what I get for trying to be thpontaneouth and for trying to apologithe for canthelling our planth."

"No! It's fine, I like pizza, I just didn't... I'm just fuckin'..." Eridan felt so ashamed for doubting Sollux, here he was getting pissy over a cancelled coffee date and Sollux had gone out and bought them dinner as a surprise, just because he felt guilty! "Come on, let's eat in the livin' room." He locked the door behind Sollux and quickly did his three checks, then he held the pizza boxes up with one hand, and grabbed Sollux's free hand with the other.

They walked into the room together, and Eridan turned on the T.V. for some background noise. "So what kind a pizzas did you get us?" He asked as he sat down on the two seater sofa, folding his legs up underneath himself.

Sollux slid his feet out of his shoes as inconspicuously as possible, and then sat down next to Eridan, "well I got me the biggetht fucking meat featht they had to offer, and you got a plain cheethe one becauthe you thaid you're weird with mixthing food." He put the drinks on the table and grabbed one of the boxes out of Eridan's grasp, flipping the lid open and breathing in the smell, "it'th a work of art, have a look." Sollux held the box under Eridan's nose, and they both stared at the mess of cheese and meat with two very different expressions.

"Sol, no, that's disgustin', look at it! All the different meat is touchin'!" There was no way that Sollux's pizza could ever be salvaged enough for consumption, no matter how much it was picked apart.

"That'th what maketh it tho good, ED." Sollux set the box down on his lap and pulled out a slice, admiring the glorious beauty of it, he started to dig in happily.

Eridan huffed and turned his attention to his own plain, margharita pizza. "Thanks Sol... I gotta admit, I was a bit pissed that you cancelled on me, but now I see that you've gone to all this effort for me. I'm fuckin' sorry." Eridan leant over and pecked Sollux gently on the cheek.

Sollux stopped mid-chew, his cheeks filled to bursting point. Eridan was saying sorry, but _he_ was the one who should be apologising. He finished his mouthful, and was about to explain to him the real reason he cancelled when he heard himself say, "it'th fine, I'd be pithed too." He felt like the worst person on the planet, but he was protecting Eridan, he didn't want to make him sad. After all, seeing Aradia today was a one-off to get closure, he wouldn't ever cancel on him again.

They sat in silence while they ate their food, watching the telly in a half-arsed manner. When they had both eaten their fill, Eridan took their boxes and threw them on the table, "so how long are you round for today? Are we goin' to actually hang out for a while, or is Kar goin' to summon you home?" He smirked playfully, but paused as he saw Sollux's face. "What's wrong? I was jokin' Sol, it's cute that Kar cares about you gettin' your work done on time, I'm sorry!"

Sollux shook his head, he couldn't speak. The guilty feeling had grown exponentially as he ate, and now he felt as if he was drowning in a sea of shame and darkness and desolation and oh god why wasn't anyone saving him please it's hard to breathe it's-

"Sol!" Eridan's voice was loud and clear as he grabbed Sollux and pulled him close to his chest. His ringed fingers ran through Sollux's short hair in an attempt to soothe him, "I'm here, it's okay, just breathe." Eridan recognised the panic attack starting, and tried his best to help.

The drowning feeling started to fade away slowly, and Sollux pressed his face against Eridan's chest, focusing on the faint smell of coconut. He didn't move as he listened to Eridan make soft shooshing noises and whisper gentle reassurances. After a little while, he found himself able to speak, "ED, can we jutht thtay like thith for a little while?"

"Course we can. We can stay like it for as long as you like." Eridan shifted himself so that Sollux was sat in between his legs, he kept his arms wrapped around him, "want me to try and get your mind off it?" He offered, remembering the phonecall they had shared before.

Sollux nodded, he felt completely empty and numb, and just wanted to listen to Eridan talk about absolute nonsense. To him, the random and forced subjects that Eridan talked about sounded like fucking sonnets. With one ear, he listened to him chat about what mediums captured certain fabrics the best, and with the other he listened to the constant, gentle thumping of Eridan's heart. Sollux closed his eyes, the panic had settled a little, and he began taking deeper breathes; he allowed, and welcomed, the sweet smell of coconut to fill his head. It washed away the insecurities, the doubts, the guilt, and just left an imprint of Eridan in his mind.

It was about thirty minutes later when Eridan realised that Sollux had fallen asleep, he didn't dare try and wake him up, but unfortunately Sollux's phone had buzzed loudly. Eridan awkwardly leant forwards and pulled Sollux's phone out of his front trouser pocket; feeling thankful that he was curled up, or he never would have been able to reach it. He placed a kiss on the top of his head affectionately, and spent at least another five minutes trying to unlock the phone to see if it was Karkat wanting him to come home, or even an emergency. He felt a little bad for looking at Sollux's message without permission, but he didn't want to wake him up without a good enough reason.

**'HEY ASSHOLE WHAT TIME ARE YOU HEADING HOME? I'M LEAVING FOR WORK NOW SO I'LL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING. PHONE ME IF YOU'RE NOT OKAY TONIGHT.'**

Eridan looked at the screen and suppressed a laugh, why did Karkat seem so pissed off even when he was actually being a nice guy and check up on his friend? He began sending a text back, struggling with the new-fangled touch-screen technology that seemed to hate his hands.

Finally satisfied that he had done a good job, he placed the phone on the floor, and snuggled down against the sofa cushions; it was going to be difficult to sleep in this position, but keeping Sollux comfortable was the only thing that mattered. He leant his head back and closed his eyes, thankful that he had already taken his contact lenses out before going to the library.

-.-.-.-.-

Karkat sat in his car, he had arrived at his job and was frowning at his phone. He hated trying to read messages from people who were either too lazy or stupid to use punctuation.

**'hey kar sols asleep right now he kind a crashed after a little panic attack so i dont really want to wake him up right now hed probably fuckin kill me if i tried**

**have a good night at work ill be sure to look after sol an make sure hes okay by the way im stealin your number off this phone'**

Karkat sighed, he felt reassured knowing that Sollux had someone to look after him when he was at work. God knows the lisping fucker needed support right now. He sent Eridan a quick 'thanks' and got out of his car.

 


	27. Making Plans

Eridan's alarm was a lovely acoustic melody that would put him in reasonably good spirits for the day. He would wake up, smile, and listen serenely for a minute or two.

Unfortunately it was not Eridan's alarm that roused them both that morning. Sollux's alarm was loud, blaring heavy metal, and it thundered with a shocking volume.

"WWHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Eridan shrieked as he jumped up, pushing Sollux off his lap and onto the floor. After the initial shock wore off he looked down shamefully, his eyes wide and his hair a tangled mess.

"Calm your titth, ED, it'th only my alarm. You're acting like a child," Sollux groaned as he grabbed his phone to turn it off, then he squinted up at Eridan, "help me up then, you baby." He grabbed at Eridan's arm and pulled himself up, then stretched and smirked, "you're pretty comfy to thleep on, you know."

"Piss off Sol, that scared the ever-lovin' shit outta me!" He scolded, "why the fuck do you have such an awful song to wake up to? That was ridiculous." Eridan clutched a hand to his heart dramatically, and pouted.

Sollux rolled his eyes, "I don't wake up eathily, and I probably could've thlept through that too, if you hadn't thrown me onto the floor like the thcared little bitch you are." He muttered, bending over to pick his sunglasses up off the floor. He blinked sleepily, only just registering where he was, "did I thleep here?"

Eridan raised an eyebrow, "obviously. Don't you remember? You had a panic attack an dozed off while I was talkin' to you." He paused for a moment, then smirked playfully, "which was quite rude, to be honest. I mean, I was impartin' a whole load a art media secrets to you."

"I think I'll jutht about be able to thurvive without that knowledge, ED." Sollux looked down at himself; he pulled his own shirt up over his face and sniffed, then shrugged. "Good enough."

Eridan stared at him, "what do you mean _'good enough'_? What was that? Why did you sniff your shirt?"

"Well I don't have enough time for a shower, or even to go home and change, tho I wath checking to thee how bad I thmell. I'll probably wear my boxerth inthide out though." Sollux rolled his eyes and thought that was pretty obvious, but he couldn't help but snort when he saw Eridan's expression.

"What? No you bloody won't! I'll lend you some a my fuckin' clothes, Jesus Christ, I'm not havin' my boyfriend be the smelly person in class! No fuckin' way." He grimaced and flared his nostrils, "you'll wear what I give you, and I won't hear any complainin'. Now, I have a spare toothbrush in the second bathroom, so use that while I go an get you some clothes..." Eridan's words trailed off as he saw Sollux grin, "what's so funny?"

Sollux was embarrassed to admit it, but he felt like a child for how happy that comment made him. Eridan had used the word 'boyfriend' and it had hit him harder than he had thought it would. He rubbed the side of his own face, "nothing, ED. Well... No, it'th nothing. Come on, show me where your bathroom ith." He grabbed Eridan's hand and began pulling him towards the living room door.

Eridan raised an eyebrow; he would have continued interrogating him, but how could he when Sollux was clasping his hand so tightly? He sighed and began walking through the house, "you're an idiot."

"yeah, but I'm _your_ idiot."

They walked into the bathroom together, and Sollux noted that it was about the same size as his own. Eridan let go of his hand and began rooting through a thin set of drawers, mumbling little curses and insults at it under his breath. He shouted a little victory cry as he pulled out a sealed toothbrush, "I found the little bastard! Here, sorry it's just a standard one, nothin' fancy." He held it out towards Sollux, who took it gratefully.

"Thankth ED, I wath worried I'd have to brush my teeth with my finger or thomething." He began fiddling with the packaging to try and ignore the look of pure revulsion that Eridan was giving him.

"Oh my God, you're not even jokin'." He stood up and left the room with his hands in the air, "I'm goin' to go get you some clothes before you start tellin' me about the other disgustin' shit you do." He quickly bolted for the stairs, leaving the sound of Sollux's snickering behind. When Eridan reached his room, he flung open the wardrobe, then frowned and huffed angrily. He wasn't sure that he owned anything that was baggy _and_ plain enough to suit Sollux's tastes.

Sollux stood in the bathroom humming to himself as he brushed his teeth. Just as he finished Eridan walked in with his arms full of clothes. "Fuggin' 'ell," he spat his mouthful of foamy toothpaste into the sink and rinsed it away, "I don't need that much!"

"Oh, yes, you're a fuckin' comedian. I'm _tryin'_ to offer you a variety a clothin' so that you can choose somethin' you like the look of. You know, instead a forcin' you to wear somethin' you're not comfortable in." He held the pile with one arm, and began lifting things one at a time for Sollux to scrutinize. "Although, if you gave me the chance to dress you, I could have you lookin' pretty fuckin' dapper."

"No, ED. You're not drething me up like thome show dog. I wear what I'm comfortable in, you can shove your fashion advithe up your arthe." He grinned as he snatched a plain ivy green shirt out of Eridan's hand, "thith'll do."

Eridan scowled, "okay, one, I was tryin' to be nice offerin' my expertise on dressin' you up. An' two, you can keep that shirt, it's atrocious. I don't know what I was thinkin' buyin' it, as if I'd look good in that colour." He shuddered dramatically then held out a pair of bright violet boxers, "here, I thought you'd appreciate the colour a these... Although they'll clash horrendously with that shirt." Eridan tried very hard not to laugh as he handed them over.

"I think I'll live. No one but me ith going to thee them together anyway, and I couldn't care leth about shit clashing." He shook his head as Eridan began lifting up various pairs of trousers, "no, theriouthly, I'll wear my own jeanth. There'th no way I'm crushing my ballth in any of thothe, bethideth, I alwayth wear my jeanth until they get too dirty to look at, tho thethe are thtill cool."

"Wow, be still my beatin' heart. You've never seemed sexier." Eridan huffed as he turned to leave, "all I can say is that you're lucky you're natually good lookin', or you wouldn't be able to get away with dressin' so shitty." He stepped out and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Sollux blinked a few times, completely thrown off by Eridan's comment. He turned to look at himself in one of Eridan's many bathroom mirrors, wiping the toothpaste around his mouth away with the back of his hand. He studied his features carefully as he pulled stupid faces. Sollux felt a little embarrassed as he stared at himself, turning his head to get a better look at his angular nose and jaw, his thin lips, his ever so slightly uneven teeth. He nearly headbutted the mirror when Eridan suddenly opened the door to throw a balled-up pair of socks at him.

When Sollux emerged from the bathroom he felt a little better. The shirt was baggy enough to suit his tastes, even though he wished it was a size of two bigger. He strolled into the kitchen to find Eridan sat at the table reading a newspaper, a cup of tea in hand. "Hey." He sat down on one of the empty chairs, and put his rolled up shirt, boxers and socks on the table.

Eridan peered over the top of the paper to look at him, "very nice. I made you a coffee, one sugar and only a little milk." He smiled a little proudly as Sollux nodded, "an' a course there's a bowl, for your cereal."

Sollux beamed and leant forwards, patting Eridan's leg under the table, "that'll do, Jeeveth."

"One again, Sollux, I am blown away by your endless charm an' humour." Eridan muttered, fighting to contain a very faint smile, "just eat your damn breakfast."

Sollux snickered to himself as he dumped Honey Loops into the bowl, "tho, what'th the plan? When are we hanging out nextht?" He poured milk on top and put the carton back on the table, suddenly feeling very hungry.

Eridan hummed as he folded his newspaper and put it to one side, "well, I was thinkin' that we should make us seein' eachother on Fridays a regular thing. You know, considerin' we both have them off." He hesitated for a second before shyly adding, "they could be, like, date days. If you wwanted."

"Oh shit, I'd completely forgotten we both got Friday'th off. Hell yeah, we can do that." Sollux grinned cheerfully, "tell you what though, we can do thomething like, take turnth choothing what we do each week." Old habits died hard as he quickly ran through a thousand ideas in his head about how he could get Eridan into doing things like paintball, rock climbing, hiking... Anything that would make him sweat and mess his hair up.

Eridan didn't even consider that Sollux could be thinking of anything but romantic evenings, afterall, he himself was already planning spa days, French restaurants, visiting some museums, maybe a carnival... He wasn't even kidding himself, he knew that Sollux would be planning video game days and probably forcing him to eat fucking chicken nuggets or something. Still, he rolled his eyes and smiled, it was very sweet of Sollux to think of something like this, "that sounds pretty good actually. I'd love to see what you come up with."

Sollux frowned a little as he thought, taking a minute or two to finish his cereal, "tho, theeing ath you took me out for a meal latht Friday, I gueth I should choothe what we do thith week?" He felt a little guilty, there was only one thing he really wanted to do.

"That's right." Eridan's smile was a little forced, he dreaded what Sollux would come up with, oh God that crafty little fucker was probably going to make him do something awful.

"Can we jutht thtay in and hang out round mine?"

Eridan froze, that didn't sound awful at all. "What?"

Sollux shifted a little in his seat, "thorry, I jutht, I've been out a lot thethe patht couple of weekth and I'd really appreciate a day where I can jutht thtay at home. We could get a takeaway and watch thome filmth... Thorry, that thoundth a little shit, doethn't it?" He glanced over at Eridan, worried that he had let him down.

"That actually sounds perfect." Eridan leant forwards a little, "That's the best thing I could a hoped for, Sol. Make sure it's a good movie though, I'm pretty fussy." He began to relax as the worries about being made to do something messy or humiliating disappeared.

"Fuck yeah, great, okay." Sollux felt a weight lift off his shoulders, "tho come by around lunch time tomorrow, then."

"I can do that." Eridan smiled warmly, "but one of us had better warn Kar that I'm comin' round, or he'll try and kick my arse again." When Sollux turned away to laugh, Eridan just smiled even more, "but I'm proud of us, you know? We're really startin' to act the way boyfriends should... Especially seein' as you're wearing my underwear, what _would_ Karkat say if he knew?"

"Probably thomething very condethcending that involveth a lot of thwear wordth." Sollux stood up and moved himself in front of Eridan, cupping his cheek with one hand, and leant down, "thankth for being tho underthtanding." He quickly kissed him and then retreated, grabbing his dirty clothes from the kitchen table. "That'th all you're getting until tomorrow."

Eridan got up and followed him to the living room, watching as Sollux pushed the clothing into the bottom of his bag, "well then, I can't wait for tomorrow. Maybe I'll even come round early." He smirked as Sollux pulled his loosely fitting hoodie on.

"If you come round earlier than twelve I will _not_ be up. You'll have to deal with KK and Gamthee." He adjusted the bag on his shoulder, "tho be my guetht, but don't you dare wake me up when they get to be too much for you. You'll have made your bed, and you can damn well lie on it while I'm athleep in mine."

"Charmin'. Well we'll see just how excited I am tomorrow, won't we?" They walked to the door together, and Eridan unlocked it, "now fuck off to school, nerd."

"Oh, ouch, let me run back to the kitchen and run thome water over that fucking amathing burn. No really, ow, oh God, will I thurvive? I thee a light, tell KK I think he'th an ath hole." Sollux rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"And you call _me_ dramatic?" Eridan laughed, kissing Sollux's cheek gently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Cool. Later, ED." Sollux walked backwards down the path to grin at Eridan, who waved happily.

Although neither of them said it, they both felt much better about their relationship now that they had established that they were, most definitely, boyfriends.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Look, all I'm sayin' is that you should try wearin' a nice shade a purple once in a while."

"And all _I_ am saying is that I think I know how to dress myself, Eridan. You know, what with twenty one years experience one would think that they could afford the arrogance to claim such a thing? Oh yes, and I believe that I also have a slightly higher pedestal on which to stand seeing as I am, in fact, a student of fashion."

Eridan frowned at his friend, she was gloriously beautiful with her short, perfectly styled black hair, rich dark skin and slender frame. Kanaya Maryam held herself with an air of grace that was second to none, and her clothing was always impeccable. It was just a shame, in Eridan's opinion, that she only made purple clothes for her girlfriend. "Yes, well I understand that, Kan, but you should listen to me. As an artist I have an eye for this sort a thing."

Kanaya lifted her coffee to her lips, her nails sparkling with a bright jade green nail varnish. "Of course you do, I have often commented on your lovely fashion sense and knack for finding colours that compliment eachother, it's just I think that I look best in reds, greens and blacks. Rose is the one who looks marvellous in purples." She smiled at Eridan, and he once again felt the urge to sketch her wonderful features. Kanaya and her girlfriend, Rose, happened to be Eridan's favourite female models, and whenever Kanaya made new pieces for her fashion class, he would always ask to get a few sketches of them both wearing them.

"Trust me, Kan, you'd look good too. It would suit your skin tone so nicely." His voice was almost a whine as he spoke, he rested his head in his hands and grinned, "you just don't want to try it because you know I'm right."

She shook her head, "no, that's not it at all, I have tried wearing purples before, and I just don't like how they look on me. Now stop being such a child and insisting on instructing me how to dress." Kanaya reached forwards and gently patted Eridan's forehead.

He grinned as he grabbed his own coffee. They were sat in the corner of the college cafeteria, drinking the awfully bitter coffee that was served there. Eridan and Kanaya's subjects of art and fashion were taught in the same room; they spent every lesson together, helping, and sometimes hindering, eachother with their work. When Eridan wanted to practice drawing detailed clothing and female anatomy, he usually used Rose and Kanaya, especially when they wore Kanaya's creations. In return, Eridan allowed himself to be Kanaya's male model, meaning that he had to stand still while Kanaya measured him and fitted clothes and the like. He always put up a little fuss, but he absolutely loved wearing the fabulous things that she made. Their friendship was one of his favourite relationships that he had with another person.

This was why he was more than happy to sit with her in the gloomy cafeteria on any Thursdays that she was meeting Rose; unfortunately for Kanaya there was a two hour difference in hers and Rose's finishing times on Thursdays, and Eridan couldn't bear the thought of Kanaya waiting on her own. Especially seeing as she was one of his main sources of gossip.

She raised an eyebrow and pouted her lips a little as she regarded him, "is there anything that you wish to discuss, Eridan? You was very late this morning, and looked awfully sheepish about it, one might think that you was up to something." Kanaya watched him, knowingly, "come now, you cannot possibly leave me in the dark about these things."

Eridan could feel his cheeks pinken a little, "actually, I do have somethin' to be happy about for once." He looked away coyly, causing Kanaya's eyebrow to arch even higher, "I actually kind a got together with Sol... Sollux Captor, you remember? From highschool? Well we kind a got to know eachother after he did all that shit at the library, and now we're kind a... Boyfriends."

Kanaya couldn't help but smile at how excited he looked, "while I assure you that I am delighted to see you so jovial, I feel I must question this. Was it not Sollux that spent a week, in your words, torturing you and driving you out of your mind?"

"Yeah, that was him."

"And didn't you tell me that you wished to, now correct me if I'm wrong, jump on his stupid head and kick him up the arse?" Kanaya made quotation marks with her fingers as she spoke.

"Yeah, I might've said that."

"Well, I suppose the only thing that I can say is well done for overcoming that urge and finding some kind of common ground on which to lay the foundations for romance. I wish you both the very best, and I really hope that this relationship continues to bring you this much happiness and further blossom into something of beauty." She laughed brightly as Eridan grabbed her from across the table into a hug.

"Oh my, am I perhaps interrupting something?" They both turned to see Rose with her arms crossed, "please, do go on, don't allow my presence to get between you. Although I do ask that you try to keep it down as I will very likely get bored of the show and start to read, and I'm sure you both know how hard it is to read with the sounds of panting and moaning ringing out around you."

Eridan flushed brightly and straightened himself out as Kanaya stood up and strode over to Rose, they both had the same scrutinising expression as they looked at eachother, "actually Rose, Eridan was just telling me about his new boyfriend. It would seem as if it's a certain Sollux Captor that has taken his fancy."

Rose shook her head, "well I for one always thought that their vicious little spats were actually a front for feelings of pent-up sexual frustration. You see, I've read that when-"

"Yes yes, Rose, you read a lot, you shouldn't believe everythin' you read in books though." Eridan tried to ignore the fact that he could still feel his cheeks burning, "now, if you don't mind, I have business to attend. I have a date tomorrow and I need to let a certain sister of mine know. Kan, I'll see you Monday, and we can talk about how it went."

"I'm sure we will. Goodbye Eridan, and have a wonderful date." Kanaya smiled radiantly at him, her arms wrapped lovingly around Rose's shoulders.

Eridan nodded and had to stop himself from skipping away from them; he pulled out his phone as he walked, excited to tell Feferi the good news, now that she would definitely be finished with her classes and free to talk. He made a mental checklist of everything that he needed to do to make himself look perfect for his and Sollux's first, official, undeniable date.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Right, here'th the plan. ED ith coming over tomorrow at lunchtime, he'th thpending the day round here, and we're going to have thome nithe, wholethome fun. Got it?" Sollux stood in front of the television, glaring down at Karkat and Gamzee as they sat on the couch in front of him.

He had decided that because he wanted to take his relationship with Eridan seriously, he would try and include his best friends as much as possible, this way no one would feel left out or uncomfortable if he wanted to spend time with the other. The best way to do this was to make them enjoy eachother's company and integrate Eridan into the group.

Karkat glared straight back, "and why the fuck do I care if he's coming round? I'm not the one who's balls-deep in him."

"Yeth, I know, but at the thame time, I know that the thecond me and ED thtart eating, you're both going to be thniffing around uth like homeleth dogth, okay? Tho I wath thinking that maybe after me and ED watch our filmth and thettle down to order food, you could both join uth." Sollux shrugged and made an exasperated noise, "look, I actually like Eridan, okay? And I want you guyth to like him too, I jutht want uth all to hang out and have fun."

Gamzee nodded happily, "that sounds wicked bitchtits to me brother, I'm looking forward to having Eridan all up in our home, sharing with us his company. I'll even put my oven on and get us some motherfucking treats cooked up." He hooked an arm around Karkat and pulled him close, "I'm sure it'll be a miraculous experience to be had by the four of us. Making memories to last a motherfucking lifetime, all while getting our dinner-on."

Karkat did not look as enthusiastic about the situation, "I've already spent time with him, the fact that he was one of my best friends in highschool seems to have slipped your fucking mind. I wouldn't mind hanging out with the both of you, and Gamzee, but I don't want to be that extra awkward wheel that squeaks along while the two of you face-hump." He crossed his arms and shifted away from Gamzee a little, "it's not fun having all that overly-disgusting, romantic shit shoved in your face by some lovelorn, desperate fuckwits!"

Sollux would have snapped, but the poisonous rage didn't fill him, instead he just folded his own arms, "we wouldn't be fathe-humping, you dick. Whatever, don't fucking hang out then. Jutht avoid uth and make Eridan feel too uncomfortable to ever come round again." He sighed loudly, hoping that Karkat would take the bait, "it'th a shame too, becauthe we were going to order chinethe, and it wath going to be my treat." He began walking towards the stairs, counting the seconds in his head. _'five... four... three... two...'_

"Your treat?" Karkat spoke right on cue. He turned around and leant over the back of the couch to look at Sollux.

Sollux smiled to himself, keeping his back to Karkat as he spoke, "yeth KK, my treat. You can have whatever you want, thtuff your tiny body full of whatever fucking shit you tho dethire, it'th on me."

There was a heartbeat of silence, "I'm starving myself until dinnertime tomorrow. You made one mistake, you didn't tell me I had to limit myself, you said I could get whatever I wanted. You fucked up, Sollux Captor. I'm emptying your bank balance to gorge myself like a fucking Roman emperor." Karkat laughed maniacally, "I'm going to make your bank balance my bitch!"

Sollux shook his head, still smiling, "whatever, you can never eat more than a thingle portion of anything anyway. Thee you tomorrow." He listened to the sound of Karkat's continuing laughter as he walked upstairs. He needed to have a shower before he did anything else.

He tried very hard not to get himself worked up that night, but for the first time in what felt like forever Sollux had butterflies swarming around inside his stomach. He distracted himself with his Xbox, but stopped himself from playing into the early hours of the morning like he usually would, instead choosing to take a sleeping tablet around midnight to fall asleep. He curled up in his bed wearing Eridan's shirt and boxers, and after setting an alarm for the morning, he hoped for a restful, easy night.

His dreams were pleasant. There were no cars, no pain, no Aradia, there was only Eridan, and all was well.


	28. First Date

Sollux woke up a full two minutes before his alarm, but he refused to move until it went off purely on stubborn principle. He very reluctantly pulled back the covers and sat up, ready to start the day. Sollux got to his feet and stretched, smiling a little at the range of pops and cracks that he heard from his joints; he continued stretching as he walked out of his room, stopping only to readjust his boxer shorts.

His reflection looked pretty bright-eyed, and the dark circles under his eyes weren't nearly as noticeable as usual, this was surprising considering he was up before 5pm on his day off. Sollux brushed his teeth then shaved, as an afterthought he slapped on some of Karkat's aftershave; he made a metal note to go out and buy some better toiletries for himself.

Not bothering to change yet, he walked downstairs wearing the ivy green shirt and bright violet boxers that Eridan had given him the day before. Sollux heard Karkat in the kitchen, he was chatting away happily about films. Sollux could make out what he was saying as he approached the door.

"Honestly, he's an ignorant sack of faeces when it comes to movies, he wouldn't know true art if it came along and slapped him in the face with it's throbbing meat truncheon. I swear, I've lent him so many films and he's turned his nose up at every single one of them. I'm taking him to the cinema next week, but he's a piss poor excuse of a guest. I have to go with _someone_ , and honestly, what are my other choices? Gamzee would either be too high to know to shut the fuck up or he'd get bored and leave. So I'm stuck with Sollux's dumb ass, and the constant complaining that's sure to spill from that gaping noise hole in his face."

Sollux had been stood eavesdropping, and he snickered as he heard Karkat's rant; he felt sorry for the poor fucker who must've been listening on the phone to this shit. Sollux decided that he would interrupt the little conversation, considering how it _was_ him who Karkat was bitching about. He threw open the door and strode in, "what'th thith shit you've been thaying behind my ba-"

Instead of looking shocked, or even embarrassed, Karkat watched Sollux with a bored expression. Eridan, on the other hand, was very pink in the face.

"Eridan? What the fuck are you doing here now?" Sollux shouted, very conscious of the fact that he was stood there wearing Eridan's boxers, and they fit him a lot more snugly than his own would. "You wathn't thuppothed to get here until twelve!"

Karkat snorted as he laughed, and pointed to the kitchen clock that showed that it was actually 12:15. "He got here at just before twelve, you're the dickfuck who woke up late." He wolf-whistled, "nice outfit, exactly what I would wear for my first, proper date. It's casual, but sexy. Oh yes, Captor, you simply _must_ tell me where you got it."

Gamzee turned around from where he was crouched in front of the oven, "looking good, bro. I bet you're feeling nice and comfy being free from the confines of your trousers, I might just motherfucking join you and get my relaxation on." He made a half assed attempt at pulling his trousers down, but his oven mitts prevented him from getting a good enough grip on anything. Fortunately he quickly became distracted by the oven again, where he continued to watch some brownies cook.

Sollux pulled a face and quickly edged towards the door, "I'm going to go get changed into thome actual fucking clotheth." He mentally scolded himself for getting embarrassed, and for not trying to play it off as something that didn't bother him.

Eridan blinked a few times as he listen to Karkat chuckle, he turned and quickly busied himself with the mug in front of him, trying to convince himself that it was actually the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his life. "So you wwas sayin' about movvies you lent to Sol? Wwhat kind a movvies?" Eridan swallowed and tried to concentrate on suppressing his stutter.

Karkat held up a hand, looking a little annoyed, and a second later the egg-timer began ringing shrilly. He watched Gamzee turn it, and the oven, off before speaking, "sorry, when you live with someone who bakes as much as _he_ does, you start keeping an eye on times and shit." The room was suddenly filled with a luxuriously rich smell of chocolate as the oven doors were opened, "fuck me till sundown that smells good. Anyway, yeah, being the huge movie buff that I am, I lend Sollux all my best ones. Granted they're mostly romcoms, and that crotchstain doesn't have the mental capacity to understand them, but still, half the time he won't even _attempt_ to watch them."

"Oh, I love a good romantic film," Eridan smiled wistfully, "and I like any kind, some people can't stand watchin' tragic ones or cute ones, but I love them all."

Karkat grinned, "you know, I've never known anyone that appreciates romcoms in the way that you and I do, I remember all those sleepovers we had where we'd stay up all night and just watch one after another."

Eridan nodded, "those nights were pretty amazin', you showed me a lot a good ones." His eyes widened as a plate of roughly squared brownies were thrust onto the table in front of them, "oh wow."

Gamzee dropped himself heavily onto an empty seat, grabbing two brownies, he pocketed one and began eating the other, "we should eat these motherfuckers before all the heat that was bestowed on them by the love of the oven up and leaves them."

"These actually look fuckin' fantastic." Eridan eyes the pile hungrily before grabbing a large one, as he took the first bite he realised that it was one of the best things he had put in his mouth for very long time. "Oh my fuckin' God, Kar have you _tried_ these?"

Karkat smiled, clearly amused at Eridan's reaction, "yeah, I have."

"No, no, Kar, I'm being serious, have you fuckin' _tried_ these?" Eridan quickly grabbed a second and held it close.

"Yeah, I really fucking have. Gamzee bakes all sorts of shit all the fucking time." Karkat rolled his eyes, "his dad taught him how to bake all this stuff, like, all kinds of stuff. You should try his pies, oh, and he makes jam himself and everything."

Gamzee nodded leisurely, "picking the fruits of nature and preserving those bitches for the long months."

"I can't fucking believe it, you should have a job doin' this, Gam!" Eridan tried to think about how he was _supposed_ to be cutting back on all the rich, indulgent food, but he couldn't help himself, it just tasted so good.

Karkat hesitated, "well, actually, he bakes _certain things_ for _certain customers_ , if you catch my drift." He looked across at Gamzee, who had decided that Eridan's cup of tea was his own, and was dunking a brownie in it, "when he doesn't polish off the entire batch himself, they're pretty sought after."

Eridan frowned as Gamzee placed the mug back in front of him; a sodden, chocolatey lump floating on top of the tea. "I see." He glanced up as Sollux finally returned to the kitchen.

Sollux had thrown on a pair of clean-looking jeans, and a black shirt with a blue and an orange oval on the front; Eridan vaguely recognised it as a game or a movie shirt, each oval had half a little stick figure running in or out of it. He was about to ask Sollux what it was from when he noticed that Sollux wasn't wearing his sunglasses. "You look good, Sol."

"Tho do you, ED." Sollux smiled as he looked down at Eridan, who was wearing a button-up, lilac shirt with the top four buttons left undone. There was a thin silver necklace chain hanging around his neck; the pendant, a small round piece of amethyst, was resting between his collarbones. His eyes were devoid of his contact lenses, and he had a pair of white capri pants on that ended just below the knee. "wait, where are your shoeth?" Sollux stared at the bright white trainer socks, "you don't have to take them off in here, none of uth do."

"I tried telling him that." Karkat shrugged, "but he insisted on taking them off."

Eridan rolled his eyes, "I don't wear shoes in people's houses, it's just rude." He paused as his phone make a dolphin noise, he looked round at the confused faces, "don't ask, it's Fef's text-tone." He yanked a small shoulder bag out from under his chair and set it on the table, opening up a pocket to pull his phone out.

Sollux frowned at the bag, then he laughed, "I remember drawing on a bag jutht like that. Oh God, I drew dickth all over it, and I wrote ' _I love cockth_ ' on it too." He laughed loudly, until he saw Karkat miming for him to _shut the fuck up_. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

"That was you?" Eridan looked up slowly.

"Oh." Sollux nodded to himself, now remembering who's bag it was.

" _That was you_?" Eridan repeated, standing up and balling his hands into fists, "I had to walk _home_ with that bag, an everyone saw it! I got called fuckin' names, I got called gay, an I had people takin' the piss all the way home, an even after I washed all that shit off, I _still_ had people laughin' at me for months! An it was _YOU_?"

Sollux laughed nervously, he didn't know what to say, all he knew was that _'my bad'_ wouldn't fucking cut it. "Thorry?" He offered.

"You're damn right you're sorry, you immature, scrawny, buttfuckin' pissant!" Eridan's cheeks burned a dark red, he raised a finger and lowered his voice to a very threatening tone, "you will make that up to me, Sollux Captor. Mark my words, you _will_ make that up to me."

Sollux felt his chest loosen a little; in the brief moment that Eridan had started to shout, he had been convinced that Eridan was about to walk out and leave him, so he couldn't help the relieved smile that sprung to his face when he realised he wasn't. "Yeth, alright, I'll make it up to you." Sollux said, which would have been fine if had left it at that, but instead he added, "I wish I could tell patht me that I wath right though, I mean I didn't know for sure that you loved cockth, but I gueth I'm a pretty good judge of character, huh?"

The silence was shocking; Eridan looked mortified, Karkat was rubbing his temples with his fingers, and Gamzee was pushing another brownie into Eridan's mug, grinning like a child.

"Oh good God, Sollux." Karkat muttered, "it's like you talk out your ass. You know what, I don't think you're ever going to get yourself out of that hole you're digging."

Eridan stared at Sollux, his bright blue eyes were alive with a livid look to them. After a few tense seconds, he finally opened his mouth, "Kar, get the cheesiest fuckin' romcom you got." He smiled wryly, "you know what Sol, I was goin' to let you off with messin' around an not payin' attention to the film, but now, you better believe that you're goin' to watch this fucker the whole way through."

Karkat cackled as he ran from the room to grab some DVDs. Sollux however, allowed his mouth to drop open in horror, "are you fucking kidding me? Come on, at leatht let me play my D-ETH!"

"No."

Sollux looked appalled, "But Eridan!"

"No buts. You've made your bed, you can damn well lie in it." Eridan smirked nastily, feeling quite smug to have used Sollux's own phrase against him. "Now get in that fuckin' livin' room, sit down on the couch, an shut the fuck up."

With his head lowered and grumbling curses under his breath, Sollux led Eridan into the living room and dropped onto the large couch with his arms folded.

Eridan sat down happily on the middle couch cushion, and when Karkat came downstairs, his arms were filled with a variety of DVDs. He sat down next to Eridan, and they quickly began a tiresome conversation about which one to watch.

They finally decided on one, and Sollux groaned loudly as he listened to the two of them prattling on about how the book was different, but oh gosh, how they cried when they watched this film.

Gamzee eventually wandered in, he curled up in his armchair and pulled his beanie down over his face. Sollux felt nothing but unbridled jealousy as he listened to Gamzee snore softly, knowing that if _he_ tried to sleep Eridan would very likely rip him a new asshole.

During a particularly romantic scene, Eridan cuddled up to Sollux. "You comfy there, ED?"

"Yes, now shh." Eridan frowned.

Sollux shifted and leant his back against the arm of the sofa, he pulled Eridan close so that he was between his legs, and the Aquarius' back was against his chest. They both smiled and relaxed into the position.

Eridan and Karkat watched the film with a ridiculous amount of interest, but to Sollux it was the same old recycled shit. He decided to start fucking with Eridan in an attempt to keep himself amused.

It all started with Sollux placing a hand on his own leg. He reached out with a finger and stroked Eridan's thigh; refusing to move his eyes away from the screen even when Eridan turned to look at him.

After about half an hour, he upped the stakes. He moved his hand onto Eridan's knee, rubbing this thumb side to side, trying to get a reaction. It earned him an elbow to the ribs, but Sollux could feel him relaxing under the touch.

Sollux didn't move his hand again until after the first movie had finished. He kept his hand on Eridan's knee while he and Karkat chose the next stupid film, and when it started, Sollux moved about an inch lower. It wasn't much, but he felt his boyfriend bristle at the attention. Once again, he waited about half an hour before dropping his hand a couple of inches lower; he grinned as Eridan pinched his leg in a silent warning.

He waited until there was a particularly distracting moment on the screen before he pulled his hand away, ' _accidentally_ ' brushing his fingers against the front of Eridan's trousers. Sollux snickered silently to himself as he felt another pinch sting him.

Sollux took every opportunity he could to ' _innocently_ ' brush up against Eridan's lower half; he helped readjust his shirt, taking an extra second pulling the front down, his fingers sliding across Eridan's zipper. He earned a satisfying squeak when he stood up to use the bathroom and allowed his hand to stroke Eridan's crotch. Sollux shot a glance back as he left the room and saw Eridan looking very red-faced and embarrassed; he laughed out loud when he got to the bathroom, needing to take a minute to calm himself down before he could return.

When he got back to the living room, Karkat was setting up a third film. Sollux flopped down on the sofa, but Eridan refused to move back into the previous position, preventing Sollux from playing his game. With his sole source of entertainment gone, Sollux found himself actually trying to watch the film

Thankfully, this film had at least a little bit of action, and some nudity. Near the end of the film, Karkat got distracted and started talking.

"Oh Sollux, before I forget, I booked our tickets for My Love Returns for Tuesday night. It's the opening night, and I wanted to watch it as soon as it came out, you know, before some bloated, dickless, asinine speck of turd matter posts spoilers and ruins the whole fucking thing for me." Karkat didn't even look away from the screen as he spoke.

Eridan perked up suddenly, "you're goin' to watch My Love Returns? Oh I wanted to go an see that, but Fef hates that sort a thing, an I don't really have anyone else who would want to watch a romantic flick like that." He looked between Karkat and Sollux hopefully.

Sollux froze, an idea suddenly creeping it's way into his head, "really? Hey KK, what are the chantheth of getting a ticket for ED too?" He crossed his fingers.

Karkat raised an eyebrow, "are you being serious? Do you realise how many cinemas have been completely sold out for the next _month_? It was only because of my awesome tenacity that _I_ even got tickets, you have no idea how fucking amazing I am."

Eridan tutted sadly, "I should a booked straight away, but like I said, I had no one to go with. An I sure as hell wasn't about to go on my own." He looked disappointed as he watched the credits roll on the screen.

Sollux had to work very hard to keep the smile off his face, and to try and act sincere, "look KK, why don't you take ED inthtead? I would only complain the entire way through, and thith way you can both actually enjoy yourthelveth." He shrugged, "I can alwayth come with you to thee thomething elthe."

Karkat and Eridan looked at eachother, then back at Sollux; Karkat narrowed his eyes a little, suspiciously, "that actually sounds like a good idea, I was only bringing your dumb ass along because I didn't want to go on my own and you'd be better than Gamzee." He folded his arms across his chest, "fine. Eridan, I'd much prefer your company anyway, so I'll come pick you up around seven, Tuesday night. Sollux, you still owe me."

Eridan jumped on Sollux happily, wrapping his arms around him and pressing kisses all over his face, "thank you Sol!" He turned to look at Karkat, grinning ear to ear, "thanks Kar, I'll buy the snacks, I'm so fuckin' excited! Oh wow, openin' night, an I can't imagine a better person to go with!" Eridan pulled away from Sollux and clapped his hands together in font of his mouth, his rings clinking against eachother.

Sollux smiled, "Jethuth, calm down ED." He felt extremely smug as he sat there, he'd just killed two birds with one stone; Eridan was no longer pissed at him, and he didn't have to go see that stupid movie either. "Right, I'm hungry, who'th ready for food? KK, if you would be tho kind ath to go get the menu, we'll order."

Karkat shifted forwards and pulled a bright green, folded up menu out of his back pocket, "already got it, and you better fucking believe that I haven't eaten since you told me about the takeaway, so I'm just about ready to fucking feast." He opened the menu and hummed, "what to get, what to get..."

"Hurry up, KK, the retht of uth want to choothe." Sollux rolled his eyes, although he already knew what he'd be getting.

"Sollux, shut your fucking trap, I am _trying_ to read." Karkat flinched as Gamzee got up off his arm chair, stepped over, and began reading over his shoulder, "fuck off Gamzee, you poo-brained piss nugget." He swatted at Gamzee's head as he continued to read, " alright, I want sweet and sour chicken, chicken fried rice, and crispy shredded beef. That should satisfy my hunger for a little while."

Gamzee pulled the menu out of Karkat's hands and stared at it intently, looking as if he was trying very hard to focus, "I want one of their cheese burgers."

Karkat slapped a hand to his own face, "they don't have burgers, you tit."

"Karbro, I think _somebody_ needs to go back to school and learn how to read again," Gamzee held out the menu and pointed, "see? It says it right there, motherfucking _cheese burger_."

"Omelette. That says omelette." Karkat looked as if he had given up, he snatched the menu from Gamzee and flicked it towards Eridan, "He can just share my stuff."

Eridan tried to catch the menu, but it bounced off the tips of his fingers. He plucked it from the floor, and leant against Sollux, holding it up in front of them, staying silent as he read. "I just want duck chow mein. What about you, Sol?"

Sollux pretended to read the menu as he leant over Eridan's shoulder, "I'm jutht going to get my usual, thweet and thour chicken ballth and honey ribth." He grabbed his phone and placed the order, nodding at each person as he relayed what they wanted. After he was finished, he hung up the phone and turned to Karkat, "right, I'm paying, you can pick up."

Eridan looked confused, "why didn't you just ask them to deliver?"

Karkat groaned as he stood up, "we live too far away for them to deliver to us, so we have to drive out to them. And before you ask, no, we will not even consider changing where we order from, this place is the shit." He pulled Gamzee's arm, "get moving you blithering douchefuck, if I'm going you're coming with me. Your company is marginally preferable to being alone."

They grabbed their jackets and left through the front door, saying half-assed goodbyes. Eridan and Sollux sat together in silence, but the second that they heard Karkat's car pull away from the curb they leapt on eachother.

Sollux was almost surprised at how desperately Eridan kissed him; his teeth nipping and pulling at his bottom lip. Sollux heard Eridan mutter inbetween kisses, "you asshole, you was teasin' me on purpose earlier wasn't you?"

He could only smile against Eridan's lips, "yeah, I really wath."

Eridan pulled back, his cheeks pink and his eyes filled with the lustre that Sollux loved so much. "You undeniable, shit shovellin' _bastard_! Your friends were sat right there!" He leant down and began peppering Sollux's neck with hurried kisses, "I hate you so much I could just fuckin' headbutt you."

Sollux laughed and shifted himself under Eridan, opening his legs so that Eridan could lie down between them again. "That'th like your thpecial move, ithn't it? Headbutting'th becoming a regular occuraOW!" His smug attitude wavered as his neck was bitten suddenly and roughly, "fuck! ED be careful!" His voice trailed off as Eridan's tongue circled the bite wound slowly before sucking the patch of skin.

Eridan sat up between Sollux's legs, admiring the bruise pompously, "payback for the one you gave me, fucker." He leant down again and claimed Sollux's lips with his own before the scrawny man could start complaining again. Their lips crashed together and after only a second's hesitation, both began melting into the kiss. Eridan slid his tongue against Sollux's, then retreated, trying to tempt the Gemini into his mouth. Sollux quickly complied, and Eridan nipped his intruding tongue playfully, which was still enough to hurt.

_Oh, it was on._

Sollux frowned and bit down on Eridan's lip, possibly a little harder than he initially meant to; smiling when he heard Eridan hiss. He moved his hands up to Eridan's hair and was purposefully a little more enthusiastic about playing with it than he normally would be; relishing in the thought of messing the hairstyle up, and pissing the hipster off.

They clawed at eachother with a ferocity that was tinged in a deep-setted rivalry forged over many years. Neither wanted to back down, so they both pulled eachother close; Eridan gripping Sollux's hips, and Sollux fisting his hands into Eridan's shirt. At that moment in time their kiss was a test of dominance, a chance to claim the upper hand of the situation.

Sollux jumped a little as he felt Eridan's hand move to the front of his jeans. He pulled away from the kiss and looked down, breathing heavily. "ED?"

"What's wrong? Do you need an audience? Should I have started somethin' while Kar an Gam were here?" Eridan smirked and unbuttoned them with ease, he dragged the zipper down excruciatingly slowly, and his voice was smooth as silk when he spoke, "you know, Sol, that was _very_ kind a you to get Kar to agree to take me to the film instead a you. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was a completely altruistic action, but we both know that's complete bullshit." His hands gripped Sollux's belt loops and he lifted his hips to pull the trousers down to Sollux's knees. "I know you did it to get yourself out a goin', but even so, I appreciate it."

Sollux's eyelids slid shut as he listened to Eridan's soft voice, he nodded in agreement with everything he was saying.

Eridan leant forwards, his lips ghosting against Sollux's ear as he spoke, his voice almost a purr, "and I really, _really_ do appreciate it, Sol."

Suddenly they found themselves kissing again, Sollux was craving the feel of Eridan against him; the competition was over in his opinion, and he would happily admit that he had been defeated. The only thing he wanted now was for Eridan to stay with him. Sollux groaned against Eridan's lips; his body feeling warmer than it ever had before, he could taste chocolate and he could smell fucking coconut.

Eridan walked his fingers up Sollux's inner thigh, leaving a trail of tiny, tingling prints behind. Sollux felt a heat begin to rise in his stomach, a delicious warmth that spread to his fingers and toes, and continued to burn his very core.

The finger's tantalizing crawl finally came to a stop on the waistband of his boxers. There was a pause that lasted a second before those nimble fingers snapped the buttons open, releasing his erection from his boxers; Sollux sighed quietly, his eyes fluttering closed. He leant his head back and tried to focus on the soft, warm fingertips that were currently stroking him so lightly it was agonising. Sollux was vaguely aware that Eridan was moving away from him, and it didn't make sense until his shirt was pushed out of the way and a plethora of kisses were pressed against his chest, abdomen, naval, then-

Sollux gasped and sat up a little as Eridan moved his lips against his length. He looked down, his cheeks and ears bright red, and watched his boyfriend lick him slowly. After a moment, Eridan opened his eyes and looked up at Sollux. Blue eyes met heterochromia eyes and the world stood still.

Eridan smiled very briefly before closing his eyes and swirling his tongue around the tip, he listened to Sollux sigh again, then he parted his lips and began moving his head downwards. Eridan heard the sharp intake of breath that Sollux made, before he began dipping his head lower and then pulling back.

He worked on the steady rhythm, focusing his attention on trying to elicit some noises from Sollux, which didn't take long at all. He felt Sollux's hands move to his head, and he frowned as he felt his hair being messed up further.

"Ohh, fuck," Sollux's voice was low and breathy, he gripped Eridan's hair and tried to push himself further into his mouth, but Eridan moved with him, staying completely in control of the situation. Sollux made a small whining sound as Eridan teased him, but he learnt that the more he tried to push it, the less he got. He tried to stifle a groan as he let Eridan take charge.

Eridan made a content noise as he rubbed his tongue against Sollux's dick, and he felt him shudder.

"Again- d-do that again." Sollux's was beginning to sound a little desperate, his voice betraying him in every way. When Eridan complied and hummed a little, he felt the vibrations flow through him, wrenching a moan from his throat.

The world melted away, and there was only Eridan. Sollux groaned and bucked his hips, his fingers twined in Eridan's thick hair. He craved the warmth and the feeling of Eridan's tongue, his mind quickly dissolving into a mess of useless words and desperate, pleading thoughts.

"Pleathe, oh fuck, Eridan, don't thtop, don't you dare fucking thtop-"

The butterflies that had once resided in his stomach had been set aflame, they fluttered upwards and settled in his head, blinding him with their radiant, flickering light. Sollux felt his whole body tense up and he pulled at Eridan's hair, thrusting upwards into the heat; he expected Eridan to pull away, but instead he moved down further. When Sollux pressed against the back of Eridan's throat, he made a soft noise, Eridan however, moaned loudly and swallowed around him.

Everything disappeared in a shocking flash of white, every nerve in Sollux's body was alive, and he swore loud enough to hear it over the thudding that filled his ears. His muscles twitched as he rode out his orgasm, and he made pitifully weak noises as Eridan continued to swallow until he was completely finished.

Eventually, the world came back into focus and Sollux was finally able to open his eyes. He looked down at his boyfriend, smiling widely, "holy... Fuck, ED."

Eridan looked highly amused, an eyebrow arched high on his brow, "Sol, did you shout ' _pissflaps_ '?"

"I could've shouted ' _thandwich_ ' for all I fucking know." Sollux tried to hide the fact that he was pretty embarrassed by asking questions while quickly rearranging his boxers, and pulling up his trousers. "Where the fuck did you learn to do _that_?"

"You're not my first boyfriend, Sol." Eridan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but-"

"Sol. Seriously. You're _not_ my first boyfriend." Eridan shrugged, "but, I guess the fact that I never really had much of a gag reflex in the first place kind a helps."

Sollux tipped his head back against the sofa cushions grinning, "well I am fucking imprethed. That was inthane." He reached forward and stroked Eridan's hair gently, making a half-assed effort to restyle it.

Eridan hummed and ran a thumb over his own lips, then he sat down next to Sollux, cuddling up to him. They sat in complete silence for a few minutes, until they heard the sound of a car pulling up. Sollux got up and pulled back the curtain for long enough to determine that it was Karkat's car, "come on, let'th grab the plateth." Eridan got up and followed Sollux into the kitchen, watching him pull four mismatched plates and glasses out of a high cupboard, and four sets of cutlery out of a drawer.

Gamzee was the first to come through the front door, he held the bag of takeaway above his head, "guess who's back from the roadtrip of a lifetime, not only did we bring motherfucking food with us, but we also got us some stories of friendship and adventure."

Karkat followed, gnawing on his bottom lip angrily, "do me a favour, next time I say that Gamzee's company is preferable to being on my own, find the biggest rock you can find and just hit me with it until my brain slop falls out my ears. He didn't shut his mouth ONCE during that entire fucking fiasco of a journey."

They all sat down at the table, Sollux passed out plates, glasses and cutlery while Karkat opened the containers and handed them out. After Eridan and Sollux had their food sorted, Karkat shared his own between himself and Gamzee. Sollux grabbed a large bottle of cola and filled everyone's glasses before sitting down to eat.

Eridan began the laborious task of picking out every onion, pepper, and whatever else he didn't like out of his noodles, muttering curses the entire time. His face lit up as Sollux placed a rib and a piece of chicken on his plate, "thanks Sol."

Sollux's face was completely deadpan as he licked some honey sauce off his fingers, "you've earned it." He found himself feeling very proud of his poker face when he didn't even crack a smile as Eridan flushed brightly and angrily.

Gamzee opened the bag of prawn crackers and spilt them all over his plate, then began stacking them up as high as he could on top of the mound of rice, "motherfucking Leaning Tower of Pisa right here." He mused, staring at the grand tower of three whole prawn crackers he had just made. He frowned and looked a little worried, "actually, I had better dismantle this thing before it falls over and spills it's righteous, crunchy goodness all over the motherfucking tourists. They're going to have to find another place to lean and use perspective to look like they're pushing it over, this shit is dangerous." He slowly pulled the top two crackers off and leant down close to the plate, staring at the rice before whispering, " _you're welcome_."

Eridan looked a little concerned, he ate a mouthful of noodles as he watched Gamzee. Finally Gamzee looked up, flashing Eridan a wide grin and two thumbs up.

Dinner conversation was very strained, and mostly consisted of Karkat snapping his fingers in front of Gamzee's face whenever he forgot that he was eating, and began staring at the wall with his mouth full of food.

After they had all finished and cleared away the dirty dishes into the sink; Gamzee walked out the front door with a cigarette tin, and Karkat, Sollux and Eridan moved back into the living room to watch another movie. Much to Sollux's surprise they let him choose, and he quickly grabbed his Shaun of the Dead DVD off the shelf. Karkat rolled his eyes as he set it up, but Sollux cuddled up to Eridan happily, "thith ith the betht." He whispered.

They were all settled and happy when Gamzee returned, his smile lax and his eyes lidded. He flopped down onto his armchair, and Eridan noted that he could smell something he could remember from the parties he and Feferi used to go to when they rebellious teenagers.

Eridan was a little pissed off to see the movie end, he didn't want to move from Sollux's arms, but he had to. He had a project to finish, and work in the morning, so staying wasn't an option. "Right, I got to get goin'." He announced, stretching his arms above his head and suppressing a yawn.

Karkat turned to him, "right, well, keep me updated about Tuesday and whatever, try not to get ill or anything, I don't want to have to take that flange." He motioned to Sollux, who nodded gratefully.

"I'm not missin' this film, even if I got bisected or somethin' I'd drag both halves a me to the fuckin' cinema." Eridan crossed his arms and huffed, "so I'll see you at seven o'clock sharp, Kar."

They smiled at eachother before Sollux stood up and dragged Eridan out into the kitchen, rolling his eyes as he listened to their heartfelt goodbyes. "Shut up you two, and come on."

Eridan grabbed his shoulder-bag as he slipped his feet into his plain white Vans, "thanks for today, it was nice stayin' in with you. We should defini-" Eridan's words fell away as Gamzee appeared next to him, placing a small sandwich bag of brownies into his hands. "thanks, Gam." Eridan looked down at the bag grinning, but his smile faltered after a second.

Gamzee didn't seem to notice, "you looked as if you enjoyed them earlier, so I up and thought to myself that you might like to take some home with you. Consider it a delicious token of motherfucking good will." He patted Eridan's shoulder and strolled slowly back to the living room.

Eridan waited until Gamzee was out of earshot before turning to Sollux, "I appreciate what he thinks he's doin', but half a these are the coasters from the living room table."

Sollux snorted and took the bag from Eridan, "yeah, I'll have them back, KK will flip hith nut if we thtart leaving ringth on the living room table." He pulled the coasters out and gave Eridan the bag of brownies. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No, I'm alright, I'm a big boy." Eridan smirked, putting his hands in his pockets, "plus, I'll call Fef on the way and have a nice catch-up with her."

Sollux paused, "are you going to tell her about... What you did?"

Eridan laughed behind a hand, "no, Sollux. Don't worry, I keep that shit to myself for a long time. Unless she guesses, that is, then I'm forced to tell her about it." He looked at the floor before speaking again, "I had fun today, I forgot just how much I missed Kar."

"Well I'm sure you and KK can have another play date whenever you want, pluth you two are going out on a proper date nextht week, aren't you?" Sollux pulled Eridan close and kissed him affectionately, "try not to forget about me, I know you're both on the verge of eloping to live out thome fantathy life together, full of ithe-cream and woolly blanketth."

Eridan rolled his eyes, "no, I'm quite happy with you, you're stuck with me, Sol." He pulled himself out of Sollux's grip and began walking down the steps, "but speakin' a dates, I know what we're doin' next Friday."

"Oh really? Good, it'th nithe to thee you planning ahead. Tho come on, what'th the plan?" Sollux smirked as he leant again the door frame, watching his boyfriend leave. His stomach and face dropped as he heard the answer.

"We're goin' to the beach."


	29. Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning, Eridan talks about getting stitches

Tuesday came around quickly, and Eridan waited excitedly by his window for Karkat's car to pull up. He fiddled with the cuff of his formal, white shirt, feeling a little worried that he was over dressed just for going to the cinema. As a last second thought, he removed his blazer jacket and replaced it with a slightly more casual jacket.

Eridan squeaked as he recognised the car that pulled up outside his house, and quickly ran to the door. He paused only to lock it, and check it three times, before making his way over to Karkat, who was watching him from his unwound window. "Are you as fuckin' excited as I am?"

Karkat grinned, "of course I fucking am, this promises to be the greatest piece of cinematic history, and I'm pretty fucking happy that I get to watch it with someone who appreciates the fine art that is a good romantic comedy." He waited for Eridan to open the passenger side door and sit down before continuing, "don't get me wrong, Gamzee and Sollux mean a shit-load to me, but they really wouldn't know the first thing about proper romcom viewing etiquette if it straddled them and took shit on their chest."

Eridan was relieved to see that the smaller male had given up the usual plain shirts in favour of a black, long-sleeved, buttoned-up shirt, and a grey tie. "Lookin' good Kar, it's nice to see someone else takin' this thing seriously." He pulled off his own jacket to show Karkat his white shirt and black tie.

"Of course I take this seriously, like I said, proper etiquette," Karkat started the engine and began pulling away from the curb, "and don't think that I've forgotten about you promising to buy the snacks."

"Yes, I know, an I imagine that you've starved yourself today just so that you can eat more," Eridan raised an eyebrow and smirked, "I'm thinkin' a bucket-sized portion a sweet popcorn an coke, Malteasers, M&Ms, maybe some Skittles?"

Karkat kept his eyes on the road, but he reached out and gripped Eridan's shoulder firmly, "God damn it, Eridan. You really know how to woo a man."

They both laughed loudly, and chatted away for the rest of the car journey.

-.-.-.-.-

Karkat and Eridan both very nearly gave the film a standing ovation; it was hilarious, it was romantic, it was bitter-sweet, and it was painful as hell... But God damn, was it perfect. They both had to take a minute to calm themselves as the other cinema-goers filed out of the room; Eridan was thankful that he thought ahead and brought a pack of tissues, because Karkat hadn't, and had actually tried to wipe his face on his sleeve at the first sign of tears.

They had gotten through most of the pack, and Eridan believed that this was a true testament to how sad and wonderful the movie was; they had gotten great seats, and they had paid in tears.

Karkat rubbed a balled up tissue under his nose, his eyes slightly red and puffy from crying, "Fuck, bro, let's get out of here." They were the only ones left, and if they stayed any longer, they would likely start crying again. They gathered up their remaining sweets, and started walking out, "best fucking film I have seen in I don't know how long, if they don't win every award going, I will rain down upon the ceremony with furious fucking anger, and probably rip someone open with my bare hands."

"Oh my God, are you kiddin' me? They have to win, I mean, that bit with the... And then she... And he... _Oh my God_ ," Eridan held the tissue up to his face, and nearly began chewing on it, "the worst part was that they never got to say _goodbye_!" Eridan sobbed loudly and Karkat put a comforting arm around him, accidentally smacking him across the back of the head with half a pack of Malteasers in his haste.

"I know! But what about the title? I mean what kind of sick asshole names a movie "My Love Returns" when there's no way the love is returning? She's dead, man," Karkat sniffed wetly, "and she died after he fucking hurt her, and oh my fucking God."

Eridan's bottom lip wobbled as he looked at is friend with wide eyes, "best film ever." He whispered.

Karkat nodded, "I'm getting that shit on bluray, and the second I do, you're coming round to watch it, then the special features, _and_ then the fucking commentary."

They left the cinema, and hurried to Karkat's car; Eridan held all of their leftover sweets on his lap so that Karkat could concentrate on driving, "you could come over to mine for a coffee, if you want? You haven't seen my new place yet, well, at least not the inside, anyway."

"Sure, I don't see why not. I don't have any other plans," Karkat smiled a little, "as long as it's not like your parent's house. Oh my God, do you remember how Feferi's mum used to look at me? It was like I was the scum of the Earth, you'd think I'd mutated a fucking arm out of my face or something. Fuck, she hated me."

Eridan snorted, "you bet I remember. She's a mega bitch, I mean she looks down her nose at my father constantly too. No one's safe from _her majesties_ glare." He laughed a little, "I'm pretty sure she hates me too, so don't worry about it. Afterall, I'm the fuck-up son who refused to agree to take on the family business, but shit, father's going to be around for fuckin' ages, and I don't want to think about that kind of crap yet, you know?"

Karkat hummed for a second, "I guess there's no rest for the rich and the privileged, is there?" He snickered, "You poor, fucking soul."

"Piss off Kar, you got no idea what kind a shit I had to deal with. Bein' primped an polished just to become a clone, every fuckin' movement you make bein' watched an judged... Every single aspect a your life bein' controlled to a degree that gets suffocatin." Eridan ran a hand through his own hair, "you want to know how I came out to my dad? He was pressurin' me into ' _meetin'_ ' the daughter of a friend who owns a fuckin' business, which is the polite way a sayin' ' _marry this bitch_ '. He didn't listen to me when I said I wasn't interested, so I had to scream that there was no way in hell I was goin' to stick my dick in a girl for the good a joinin' families and businesses, but I'd love a nice piece a that son a theirs."

Karkat began laughing fitfully, "holy shit, bro. How did your dad take that?"

Eridan smirked and looked out the window, "he just told me that I didn't need to be such a little shit about it."

When they got to Eridan's house, they went inside, and Karkat shook his head as he watched Eridan check the lock, "Jesus, you still do that?"

"Mhmm, it has to be-"

"I know, I remember, ' _I have to check it three, five or seven times, but never two or four_.'" Karkat mocked Eridan's voice as he followed him to the kitchen, "you told me that shit enough times that it's burned into the unfortunate part of my brain that remembers you in almost a fond way."

Eridan rolled his eyes, "I think you mean the part of your brain that's ' _so fortunate to be dedicated to me, that you could weep nostalgic tears_ '." He flipped the kettle on and pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, "how do you take your tea an coffee?"

Karkat sat down at the table and shrugged, "I'll have a black coffee." While Eridan pottered around spooning granules and grabbing the cream for himself, Karkat yawned, "so I hear from Sollux that you're both going to the beach this Friday? How in the hell did you get that shitsponge to agree to that?"

"What do you mean? He's been textin' me about it, and he seems pretty excited," Eridan turned and frowned at Karkat, "doesn't he like the beach?"

"Oh, he's been acting enthusiastic about it, has he? Last time I dragged him to the beach, he bitched the entire time like a child who'd pissed his pants." Karkat snickered again, "he fucking hates beaches, and even being outside to be honest, but you can't let him have everything he wants, you have to be selfish, otherwise you'll never go anywhere. He'll try and keep you inside in his web of social ineptitude forever."

Eridan stirred the coffees and handed one to Karkat, "can you help me come up with some ideas to help him enjoy himself? You know him better than I do, and I would really appreciate some fuckin' pointers. I just want this date to be perfect for him."

"Alright, I can do that. There is one thing that idiot would find fucking romantic as hell..."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was Friday, and this was the day that Sollux had promised to go to the beach with Eridan, he hated himself a little more than usual for agreeing to do something so stupid. Sollux had been dreading it for the past week, but unfortunately he had chosen the previous Friday's activity of staying in, so now it was Eridan's turn. He was now being faced with spending an entire day at the beach; getting sunburned, being dragged into the sea, getting sand in his socks and up his ass. _Oh joy_.

Sollux hissed angrily at his screeching phone, screwing his eyes shut and curling his pillow around his head to cover his ears. It was 10AM, a time that shouldn't even _exist_ on a Friday.

He pulled himself out of bed, and grabbed his phone. Sollux felt like throwing it against a wall when he saw that Eridan had already text him. What was that fucker so goddamn chipper about at this hour?

**'good mornin sol i cant wwait to go to the beach wwith you dont forget im bringin a picnic so dont eat a big breakfast**

**please at least TRY and dress appropriately i wwant to take lots of photos 3'**

What an insufferably cheerful little shit.

He grimaced as he looked at the bag he had packed the night before, his chosen outfit was folded up on top. Sollux slunk off the bed and towards his clothes, feeling nothing but contempt for his boyfriend. He pulled his boxers off and grabbed the dark purple shirt, snickering to himself as he saw the gengar face on the front. It was kind of a double edged sword; on one hand, he was wearing Eridan's favourite colour, which was sure to impress him, but on the other, Eridan _had_ told him to dress _appropriately_.

Then again, when would a gengar shirt _not_ be appropriate?

He felt a little grumpy about the fact that he literally only owned jeans, and he hadn't really felt like going out to buy anything more suitable, seeing as it would only have been worn on this one occasion. So he didn't really feel too bad when he threw on his pair of grey trousers. Sollux grabbed his sunglasses and shoved them on, hating the fact that he had to wear them out of necessity rather than just as a way of hiding his eyes.

Sollux opened his bedroom door and walked straight into Karkat, "you!" He snarled, pointed an accusing finger at him, "it'th your fault in in thith pith-poor mood you know!"

Karkat crossed his arms and glowered straight back at the taller male, his top teeth biting down angrily on his bottom lip, "what the fuck has crawled up your ass today? Asides from the usual assortment of tiny, furry creatures, I mean. This is the first time we've looked at eachother today, unless I'm very much fucking mistaken." His brown eyes glinted, "so go on then, let's hear it. what the hell have I fucking done to put you in a shitty state like this?"

"You left my Xthboxth round John'th you shit-pan! I couldn't even abtholve mythelf with a good game latht night, before having to go on thith fucking crime of a date!" Sollux's nostrils flared, "tho thankth for fucking up my entire attitude for the day. Now I have to go to the fucking beach, trying to thmile and act ath if I give a shit!"

"Listen to me you butt-fucking son of a bitch, I already apologised for that," Karkat shrugged, "I didn't think that you'd throw such a bitchfit about it. I did tell you that I would be spending yesterday with John, and I'm sleeping over his tonight, so it made sense to just leave it over his rather than carting it back and forth." He clicked his tongue, looking as if he couldn't give less of a shit, "there's nothing I can do about it now anyway, you survived the night didn't you? So I think we can drop this pathetic notion you have that it's your fucking life-blood. You should probably cut the toddler act too, it's not very attractive, and I'm sure Eridan won't appreciate it." He barged past Sollux and into his own room, standing in the doorway, "oh, and if you bump me again, I'll rub my dick all over your beloved fucking Xbox and treat it like my bitch." Karkat didn't smile before slamming the door in Sollux's face.

Sollux clenched his fists together and shook a little. It wasn't even about the Xbox anymore, it was the principle of the matter, Karkat just seemed so nonchalant about it and that pissed him off more than anything else. Sollux punched the wall before storming off to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He didn't say goodbye to Karkat before he left, even though the shorter male was sat at the kitchen table tapping away at his damn phone. Sollux tried to ignore Gamzee too, but found himself unable to.

"I got myself up nice and early to do some baking, and I thought that seeing as my hands were already busy with the mixing and the measuring, I may as well put together our good friend Eridan a little something to enjoy, seeing as he looked so motherfucking mirthful with them last time."

Sollux rolled his eyes, he didn't think that Eridan deserved any treats, but Gamzee pressed the lunchbox against the side of Sollux's face, rubbing it against his cheek in circular motions until he grabbed it. "Fine, Jethuth Gamthee, I'll take them, jutht thtop touching me." He snatched the box and made an exasperated noise when he realised that he'd have to carry the box instead of cramming it into the already very full bag.

The only farewell that Sollux offered was a brief, "I'm not going to be here tonight." Before opening the door and storming out, he thought he heard Karkat say, "whatever," but he didn't feel like bothering to double check.

As Sollux walked the short distance to Eridan's house, he felt his foul mood begin to wane. He pulled out his phone and looked over all of the texts that Eridan had sent him over the week, and really began to comprehend just how excited his boyfriend was about the date. Eridan had asked Sollux about his favourite foods, how he liked them to be prepared, if he'd possibly like to stay the night, what kind of ice-cream he would get if they saw an ice-cream van... The list went on. Sollux groaned; he had _tried_ to act like he was looking forward to it whenever he text back, but being outside and in the sun pissed him off, and oh god, the fucking _sand_.

When Eridan's house came into view Sollux began feeling a little guilty; Eridan really was trying hard, and maybe going to the beach, just this once, wouldn't be _too_ horrible. He sighed, defeated, realising that despite the disgruntled attitude he had been dwelling on, he would be happy to go to the beach as many times as needed, just to make Eridan smile.

He had barely finished knocking on the door before it gave way beneath his fist and Eridan appeared. He was wearing a plain white, unbuttoned shirt, and a pair of dark blue, knee-length board shorts. Sollux felt his eyes trailing down to admire his chest and abdomen, thinking that Eridan most definitely looked like a swimmer.

Eridan held up his phone and snapped a picture of him before he could react, "lookin' good Sol." He pulled Sollux through the doorway, "come in, come in!" He looked as if he would start bouncing with excitement at any moment, "so, lookin' forward to gettin' to the beach?"

Sollux grinned in what he hoped was a convincing way, "yeah, you know I am. Let'th get thith shit going." He frowned as Eridan locked the door behind him, and counted him check the lock three times. "Eridan, why are you locking the door? Aren't we going thoon?"

Eridan _giggled_ as he laced his fingers with Sollux's.

"Theriouthly, what'th going on? You never told me what time we were heading out."

They stood outside the living room door; Sollux looking completely perplexed, and Eridan looking like a child about to pee himself. "Let's go have a sit down together first, Sol."

Sollux tried to keep that awkward grin on his face as he pushed the door open, but then it disappeared completely. "Eridan, what'th..?"

The living room had been moved around; the coffee table was pushed up against one wall, and the floor was covered in a very large, pale yellow blanket, on top of which was a large picnic hamper. "Eridan, what the fuck ith thith..." Sollux made a completely unnatural noise as he saw _his_ Xbox connected up to the television, with the small pile of games stacked up next to it.

"Surprise." Eridan beamed, "I knew you didn't actually want to go to the beach, so I brought the beach to us."

Sollux watched, bewildered as Eridan walked around the room, "see, I've got the sand and the sea," he motioned at the yellow blanket and the fishtank, "and the picnic, obviously, and also I bought some Cornettos and Screwballs, because I doubt an ice-cream van will drive past. And we also got some entertainment. You know, it was pretty risky tryin' to get your Xbox away from you without you gettin' suspicious." Eridan looked absolutely pleased with himself, but he began looking more and more nervous as the silent seconds ticked past, "you don't like it, do you? Oh fuck, I knew you'd find it either too borin' or too cheesy." Eridan slapped his own forehead, "I just couldn't help myself, I had to go overboard with this whole thing, didn't I? I never learn, I'm an oldschool romanti-"

His words were stolen by Sollux's lips crushing his briefly. "ED, you fucking idiot, I can't believe you did all thith for me," Sollux kissed Eridan's face lightly, hardly able to believe what he was seeing and hearing.

Eridan nodded, trying to regain his usual, arrogant composure, "yes, well, I had to, didn't I? This is your date day as much as it is mine, and I wanted you to be happy and enjoy it." He shrugged, "Kar kind a helped me come up with ideas after we watched the movie on Tuesday. He came round here an we talked for fuckin' ages about you. He really helped me, especially with the Xbox." Eridan paused for a second before he looked at the floor and added, "we got plenty a time to have selfish dates, but I wanted to do somethin' for you."

Sollux sighed, "thith ith the perfect date. I can't believe I didn't have any faith in you... Wait, KK helped?"

"Yeah, course he did. When me an Kar were talkin' about it after we went to the cinema, he said that you hate bein' outside, an the beach was just the worst possible idea," Eridan pouted a little, "so I asked him what you _would_ like, an he said that you'd find nothin' more romantic than a surprise gamin' day. So that's what I set my mind to doin'. The perfect fuckin' date, just for you." He shrugged, almost not wanting to give Karkat so much credit, but knowing that the short guy deserved it, "it was his idea to get your Xbox, an tell you it was round John's so you wouldn't have any idea what was happenin'. He brought it over here yesterday."

"Holy crap, you two really put in a fuck-tonne of effort here, I can't believe... Oh shit." Sollux slapped a hand to his face, "I acted like a prick to KK, like I theriothly blew up in hith fathe thith morning. I am going to have to grovel like fuck to get him to talk to me."

Eridan pulled Sollux down to sit on the blanket with him, "to be honest, I think you had better start practicin' your apology, but first, why don't we put on a game an have some food? I made the sandwiches without butter, I hope you don't mind, I can't stand the stuff."

Sollux smiled as he watched Eridan start emptying the picnic basket to show off everything he had prepared, he pulled out his phone and sent a text.

-.-.-.-.-

Karkat was getting ready to leave when he heard his text tone, he picked up his phone and laughed loudly.

**'hey kk, 2orry for thii2 morniing, you're not a complete 2hiit 2tain. ii'm gue22iing you want me two watch a fiilm wiith you? ii wiill admiit that ii miight have been a biit of a ba2tard.**   
**but at lea2t we're 2tiill friiend2, riight?'**

Well, seeing as Sollux so kindly offered, Karkat began writing a mental list of all the films he could force Sollux to watch. Maybe he'd start things off with a Fresh Prince of Bel Air marathon...

-.-.-.-.-

"Tho you theriouthly never played video gameth growing up?" Sollux bit his tongue as he concentrated on the screen in front of him, he couldn't believe that anyone could have gotten to this age without spending a hundred or so hours on Pokemon, or at least _some_ sort of game.

Eridan sat quietly, resting against Sollux while he watched him play, "no, my father was too busy teachin' us all about business economics an how to choose the best stocks an shares... It's fine though, I mean, I had fun with other things."

Sollux paused the game and looked at Eridan suspiciously, "what other thingth? If that wath me, I probably would have burnt my dick off mathturbating my boredom away." He laughed as Eridan slapped his arm in disgust.

"No, fuckin' hell Sol, I got more dignity than that!" He huffed and rolled his eyes, "I'll have you know, I have got a fuckin' excellent memory, an I learnt pretty quick that I could recall shit real easily, so I started readin' the biggest books I could find, an seein' how much I could memorise. That was always pretty entertainin' to do."

"What?" Sollux frowned, "you thought that wath _entertaining_?" He almost felt sorry for Eridan. He never knew this, but then again, it would explain why Eridan always scored perfectly on exams.

"Yeah, like, anything I read gets imprinted on me, an I just remember it." Eridan fiddled with one of his rings, turning it around, and then back again, "I like learnin', so I started readin' to teach myself shit, like I fuckin' adore science, history an battle strategy stuff, so I read as much as I could... I could draw you a pretty good map from memory, you know."

Sollux shook his head, while he was training charizards, and learning type weaknesses, Eridan was locked away memorising maps for fun. Poor little hipster. "Tho hath any of that shit been utheful in the real world?"

Eridan smiled and began rolling up his board shorts, "yeah, I mean, I remember one time it probably saved my life. When I was young, I used to play a lot with Vriska Serket, and one time, me an her were fuckin' around on a beach, an we _may_ have been climbin' up a cliff face... Anyway, long story short, I fell off an onto the rocks."

"Holy fuck!"

"Yes, I believe that I screamed somethin' like that when I fell. So anyway, I was lyin' there, bleedin' out from a gash in my leg the size a my hand, an Vris was screamin' an callin' me a 'dumb shit'. So someone comes along with a first aid kit, an they don't know what to do, an the ambulance was on it's way, but I was so scared that my father would kick my ass for climbin' on shit again, that I took the kit, cleaned the wound an stitched it up myself." Eridan laughed as a long, white scar came into view on the top of his thigh. "I was a fuckin' idiot, an a course father found out when I got home, then he had to drive my stupid ass to the hospital himself. The doctors were pretty impressed that I had done such a good job, an I had to tell them I read about it in a book once, an just remembered how to do it." Eridan didn't feel self conscious about his scar anymore, he did when he was younger; never wearing anything short enough to allow it to be seen, but now he just felt indifferent towards it.

Sollux reached out and stroked the scar as gently as he could, worried that it would somehow reopen under his touch, "that'th pretty hardcore, Ampora. Didn't it hurt?" He had never gotten stitches in his life, so he couldn't pretend as if he knew.

Eridan blanched a little at the memory, "oh God, I screamed an I cried while I was doin' it, but I knew not to go too deep an-" He stopped speaking as Sollux leant over and pecked him on the lips.

"ED, you're both imprething _and_ grothing me out here. I'm proud of you." After a second he added, "nerd."

"Say 'cheese'." Eridan grinned and held up his phone to snap a quick picture of Sollux doing a thumbs up next to his thigh-scar. He paused to look at the photo before deleting it, "we both looked awful in that one. Come here, we'll take a proper one." He shuffled so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder, then took another selfie of them both.

Eridan actually took about seven, and they both pulled a variety of serious and silly faces. The two of them had a laugh looking at the images, and Eridan set a nice one as his background, "I'll send you all a these, an you have to make one a them _your_ phone background too." He pouted playfully as he began tapping away at his phone.

Sollux rolled his eyes as he grabbed a ham sandwich out of the picnic basket, "fine, I gueth I don't mind having our ugly mugth on my phone. You know, I'm thtill pithed that you don't uthe butter in your thandwiches."

"Butter tastes like bullshit and is full of empty, gross calories." Eridan returned his phone to his pocket and shrugged, "unless it's baked into a cake or something, I don't even want to acknowledge it's existence." He smiled as he watched his boyfriend eat, he had been so worried that the picnic would be too childish or bland for Sollux's tastes that he almost didn't do it. Eridan opened the lunchbox that Sollux had brought over and grinned peevishly as he pulled out another brownie, "thank Gam for makin' these for me, I think that they're quickly becomin' my all-time favourite food."

Sollux wiped the crumbs off his hands on Eridan's shirt, "will do. Now let'th get back to gaming, we thtill have to get Reaver to join our team."

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux felt very satisfied; he had Eridan cuddled up to him, he had saved the kingdom of Albion three times, and was now working on purchasing every single property in the game. Life was good. He was about to brag about buying a particularly large mansion, when Eridan's head suddenly slipped from his shoulder. The hipster face-planted the floor before he woke up, "wwuh duh fug?" He muttered against the yellow blanket, not even bothering to sit up.

"Holy shit, ED, you fucking lightweight! It'th only about..." Sollux laughed and checked the time on his phone, "oh, holy shit, it'th three in the morning, come on, let'th get you tucked in." He saved the game and shut down the Xbox before gathering Eridan up in his arms, afterall, he had his priorities. It took Sollux about twenty seconds of straining before he realised that he physically could not lift his boyfriend while he himself was already kneeling. "ED, thtand up tho I can lift you, you fat shit."

"M'not fat, you... Turdtruck." Eridan muttered, slowly getting to his feet as he rubbed his eyes, "I already told you, I'm fuckin' buff."

Sollux stood up and was about to pick Eridan up, bridal style, when the guy walked away; he frowned and grabbed his bag before following. He found Eridan rattling his front door handle, Sollux smiled and counted in his head; _one, two, three... Four? Five? That wasn't right was it?_

"ED, you checked the door five timeth inthtead of three. What the hell, I thought that wath thome obthethive cumpulthive crap, why'd you thuddenly change the number?"

Eridan yawned loudly and patted the door as if it had done a good job, "three didn't feel _right_ , so I had to go to the next good number. I have to check it three, five or seven times, but never two or four. Two an four are shit numbers." He shrugged, acting as if this was completely obvious. After a moment of awkward silence that Sollux must have been using to try and figure out what the hell Eridan had meant by all of that, they began switching off lights. They held hands as Eridan led the way to his bedroom.

"Holy shit, your room'th immaculate. What'th through there?" Sollux marvelled at the spotlessness of the bedroom, then strolled over to the bathroom door, he opened it, and nearly screamed, "what the FUCK? Not only do you have two fucking bathrooms, one of them ith the thize of a colotheum! Why the hell do you even need a bathroom thith big?" He made his way over the gigantic walk-in shower, feeling nothing but jealousy until he had an idea, "hey, ED, lookth like you could fit two people in here quite comfortably."

"You can fit three in there with room to spare, actually." Eridan looked a little too smarmy as he picked up his toothbrush.

Sollux pouted a little, trying not to think about what Eridan had implied there. He pulled his own toothbrush out of his bag before nodding at the large bathtub, "I thuppothe you can fit three in there, too?"

Eridan tried not to smile, it was fun seeing his boyfriend getting a little jealous, "no, it's a little to small for three. But two can fit in there very easily." He began brushing his teeth, trying not to make eye contact with Sollux's very grumpy reflection.

At that moment, Sollux swore to himself that he would make Eridan forget all about whoever else may have had fun with him in the bathroom. He would make sure that Eridan would only be able to think about him when he looked at anything in the room. Sollux continued to glare as he brushed his teeth.

Once they had both finished, they returned to the bedroom. Eridan instantly pulled off everything but his socks and boxers, leaving his clothes wherever they landed. He rationalised that he would pick them up in the morning before he got ready for work, as doing it at that precise moment seemed like the last thing he wanted to do. The only thing he took care to do before dropping onto the bed, was to put his glasses on the bedside table beside his phone.

Sollux stripped himself down to his boxers and socks too, feeling a little self conscious. Eridan was lean, and had a very nice amount of muscle definition that had obviously come from his swimming. Sollux looked down at himself; he was a scrawny, wiry, lanky fuck, and he didn't get outside nearly enough to get any kind of tan, and _'oh God what the hell am I even doing here? I'm not good enough, I shouldn't be here, I'm fucking disappointment, I'm ugly, I'm disgusting, oh FUCK-'_ His thought process was cut short by Eridan suddenly grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the bed.

"C'mon Sol, stop just standin' there, lookin' fuckin' gorgeous, an start keepin' me warm." Eridan ran a hand shamelessly across his boyfriend's bare stomach, before curling his arms around him and pulling him close, resting his head against Sollux's chest. Eridan listened to the slow thumping beat of Sollux's heart, he heard it speed up a little, and he smiled.

Sollux dropped his sunglasses onto the floor, not wanting to turn around and attempt to find the table on his side of the bed. He wrapped his arms around Eridan, and held him close, trying not to focus on how their bodies were pressed flush against one another. After a couple of minutes, he was about to make a little suggestion that maybe they should do something to tire themselves out, when he heard a snuffling snore come from Eridan.

"ED?" Sollux whispered, but he knew that there was no way in hell that Eridan was going to answer, "fuck." He groaned a little; Sollux wasn't tired, so he doubted he'd fall asleep any time soon, and even if he wanted to move away, he was trapped in Eridan's boa constricter sleep-grip. He kept hold of Eridan, but shifted his hips away a little, trying not to press up against him too much.

This looked as if it would end up being a very long night for Sollux.


	30. Sollux's Date Idea

Eridan had woken up feeling slightly groggy. He nearly screamed when he saw the short, choppy hair of the person lying next to him, believing that it was Feferi with all of her glorious locks hacked off. It took him a good few seconds to remember that Sollux had stayed the night, and he snorted at his own stupidity.

Having a shower was the top priority on the morning's to-do list, but the bed was so damn warm; when Eridan shifted, Sollux turned around in his sleep and latched onto him, mumbling incoherently against Eridan's violet streak. Maybe the shower could wait for a little while. The Aquarius smiled, and placed a hand on Sollux's chest; part of him felt as if he would wake from this dream at any moment, and it would all be a lie. Eridan shook the thought from his head and wiggled closer, resting his forehead against Sollux's collarbone, he took great comfort from the arms that were wrapped tightly around him.

There was nowhere in the world he'd rather be.

Sollux looked so peaceful when we was asleep, and Eridan glanced up at him fondly; even when he was unconscious, the nerd had a slight frown, but this only served to make him look so much cuter. Eridan fought against Sollux's arms for a moment and leant up, placing a kiss against Sollux's jawline. The crease between the Gemini's eyebrows softened, and he mumbled once again and he pulled Eridan closer.

It was so tempting to stay like this, with their bodies pressed flush against one another, but Eridan was starting to feel the stirrings in the pit of his stomach that meant only one thing. He quickly pulled himself away from his snoozing boyfriend, who pouted and rolled over in his sleep. Eridan walked a little awkwardly as he made his way to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door once he got there. He was going to need an _especially_ cold shower.

After Eridan had showered and gotten into his hideous work uniform, Sollux's alarm burst into life and once again scared the shit out of Eridan.

Sollux blinked and sat up blearily, then shook his head, "thup, ED." He muttered, rubbing his hands all over his own face.

Eridan was pretty thankful that Sollux had woken up, it meant that he could blowdry his hair without feeling like a prick, "mornin' Sol, you can have a shower if you want, an I'll make us some breakfast, how does that sound?" He watched Sollux get out of bed, and tried very hard not to look at his boyfriend's body _too_ much.

"Cheerth, thoundth good." Sollux walked over to Eridan on very unsteady feet, then kissed the purple chunk of his damp hair three times, "never two or four, right?" He snickered, not even attempting to dodge the slap that Eridan delivered to his thigh, before he toddled off to the bathroom.

Eridan held his unimpressed expression until he heard the shower turn on, then he smiled to himself and started drying his hair with the hairdryer, actually feeling quite pleased that Sollux had remembered the correct 'good' and 'bad' numbers.

By the time Sollux came out of the bathroom, Eridan's hair was dry, "hey Sol, if you want to use my hair dryer, help yourself, I'm goin' to go make us somethin' nice to eat." He smiled up at Sollux and ran a hand through his own productless hair nervously; he hated the thought of his boyfriend seeing him when he wasn't looking perfect, "how does a nice cheese an ham toastie sound?"

Sollux flopped onto the seat in front of the vanity desk and grabbed the hairdryer, "thoundth fucking awethome. Thankth." He leant over and patted Eridan's behind as the hipster walked away. Sollux grinned and began doing his own hair, and noticed it was feeling better than it had ever done before, also it now smelled of coconut.

Eridan damn near skipped down the stairs. The morning was off to a good start, and Eridan was pleasantly surprised that Sollux hadn't wanted to eat his damn cereal and had instead taken up his offer of having a proper breakfast.

The bread was in the toaster, and Eridan was opening the pack of ham when he heard the front door unlock, "I'm in the kitchen, Fef!" He shouted.

Feferi was beaming when she walked in, "morning! Oooh, you're cooking toasties? Sounds good to me!" She sat down and watched Eridan as he walked to the oven.

"I knew you'd want feedin', so I made you one already." Eridan looked smug as shit as he pulled the tray out of the grill part of the oven. He put the two pieces of cheese on toast onto two plates and then pulled the toast out of the toaster, "Sol'll be down in a minute, he's just gettin' ready for work." Eridan very carefully laid the ham slices on top of the cheese, and then topped it with another piece of toast. Perfect. He insisted on cutting both toasties into triangles, because it was a fact that triangles made sandwiches and toast taste better. It was science.

Feferi continued her observation of Eridan as he put both plates onto the table, "Thank you, Eridan." She giggled as she picked up one half of her toastie, "judging by the fact that you're walking so well, I take it that Sollux was on the bottom last night?"

Eridan looked horrified as he pulled his own piece of cheese on toast out of the oven, and switched the oven off, "FEF! Excuse you? Wwe didn't do anythin' like THAT last night! Jesus, wwe'vve not been together for that long!" His face was bright red as he fixed his own breakfast.

"Oh come on, Eridan, I'm just giving you a little bit of carp, clam down." Feferi continued to giggle as she started eating.

The hipster looked anything but amused when he joined her at the table, he was about to say something when Sollux walked in, "hey, Sol. Breakfast's ready."

Sollux froze, then waved at Feferi, "hey FF, how'th it going?" He flopped himself down onto a seat and grabbed his own toastie, "shit, thankth ED, lookth fucking good."

Feferi smiled with her mouth full of food, she waved and looked embarrassed that she couldn't reply, but she hummed a little greeting.

Before he could take a bite of his own, Sollux glanced at Eridan's breakfast, "oh, you're fucking kidding me." Eridan had made himself one cheese toastie and one ham toastie, instead of mixing the two together, "you're an ath."

Eridan frowned and stuck a middle finger up, "eat your damn breakfast you ungrateful fucker, you know I can't eat shit if it's mixed or touchin'."

Sollux opened his mouth to retort, but Feferi cut him off, having finally swallowed her mouthful of food. He finished his own breakfast while Feferi talked all about her job, her course and her life in general. Once she had finished talking, he regaled her with the unbelievably interesting stories he had about the dreary world of coding, which didn't take very long at all.

Once breakfast was out of the way, the three of them only really had enough time to chat for a little while before it was time to leave. Feferi insisted on dropping Sollux off at work too, instead of letting him walk, which he was pretty grateful for. Plus it was funny to see Eridan getting pissy about not being able to take _his_ car.

It didn't really take long to get to Sollux's computer shop, and Eridan got out of the car with him to say goodbye. "Thanks for comin' round, Sol. I had a lot a fun."

"Me too, ED. Maybe nextht week you can thtay with me round mine?" Sollux offered hopefully.

Eridan nodded, "sounds good to me, oh yeah, I'll get Kar to come get the Xbox for you tonight."

Feferi stuck her head out of the car window and beeped the horn quickly, "would it krill you both to move it along? Come on!"

"Fuckin' hell, Fef! You're ruinin' a beautiful moment, you cow! We don't need you ogglin' us an screamin'!" Eridan flushed brightly, and looked positively horrified that Feferi would have the audacity to even _suggest_ that their heartfelt goodbye was taking too long. "Anyway, have a good day at work, Sol. I'll text you later."

"Yeah, you too," Sollux smirked and pecked Eridan on the lips, "Oh, don't worry ED, I have a great idea about what we can do nextht Friday."

-.-.-.-.-

"Yeah, I have no fucking idea what we can do on Friday." Sollux had been wracking his brain since Saturday, and now that it was Wednesday, he was starting to get a little worried. He definitely didn't want to let Eridan down, not after the phenomenal gaming date the hipster had set up for him. "Come on KK, you have to help me!"

Karkat glared at his own reflection, and pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth before speaking, "holy shit, I can't even brush my teeth without having some shit-goblin getting all up in my face about where to take their boyfriend on a fucking date? Jesus Christ Sollux you _do_ have a brain, don't you? Why don't you try and use it? Think about what Eridan likes doing, and just do that." He wiped his mouth and turned around, "bonus points if it's something that you don't want to do."

Sollux gently headbutted the doorframe, "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! I don't _know_ what he would want to do, athideth from thomething like a thpa day! And I'm not doing that KK, it would open the floodgateth of shitty dateth for the future." He groaned and raked his fingers through his own hair, following Karkat as he left the bathroom to go downstairs, "come on, you helped _him_!"

"I hardly helped, I just gave him a nudge in the right direction and got your Xbox off you. That's all. He did all the hard work, you dingbat," Karkat walked into the kitchen and turned the kettle on, "seriously, I'm not going to be giving out ideas to the both of you every week, you have to at least _try_ to come up with something yourself."

Before Sollux could retort, Gamzee leisurely strolled in and patted Sollux on the head, "you and Eridan should up and come with me and Karkat to the fairground, join in on the motherfucking mirthful jovialations." He opened the fridge door and stuck his head inside, "promises to be a night of bitchtits fun."

Sollux thought about this idea for a moment. On one hand this would be a pretty good date, there would be rides and food, and Eridan would most likely have a lot of fun there. On the other hand, this was also a little worrying for Sollux because the fairground would be busy as hell, and Sollux did not do well in places with large crowds; his anxiety could flare up, and there would be a very real possibility of him getting so uncomfortable that he'd have to go home.

Then again, Karkat said that he _should_ try and do something just for Eridan, even if he didn't want to do it.

"I haven't had any better ideath, fuck it, sure, we'll come to the fairground. Thankth for the idea Gamthee." Sollux leant his face against the side of the fridge and groaned, "the only problem ith I might have a fucking meltdown and freak out or thomething."

Karkat finished making his coffee before he looked at Sollux, "try not to look so down, it's a good idea. Think about how excited Ampora will get, fuck, the fancy bitch will probably go out and buy a whole new outfit for the occasion." He paused for a moment and suddenly grinned, "wait a fucking second, Sollux, why don't you just act all secretive about the night's plans, that way if you get all worried beforehand, you can just go to a fancy restaurant or some shit instead? He can't be let down if he never knew what the fuck was originally planned."

"That ith the betht thing I have ever heard," Sollux looked at Karkat gratefully, "fuck! You little geniuth!" He was already scrambling with his phone to send a text to Eridan about the surprise, wondering how the hell he didn't think about having a backup plan.

"Of course I'm a genius, I would have thought you would know that by now. " Karkat smirked, then watched Gamzee pulling out a block of butter and taking a huge bite out of it.

Sollux barely even noticed Karkat trying to wrestle the butter out of Gamzee's hands, he was too busy trying to word his text to show how excited he actually was, while keeping the fairground idea a secret. He thought about the fact that Gamzee had said that it was a night-time fair, so this left the rest of the day for vegging out together. Oh yes, this really _was_ going to be an enjoyable date.

**'hey ed, about our date, ii just wanted you two know that iit'2 goiing two be amaziing. come round miine at about one, and we'll hang out for the day, but ii'll have a 2urprii2e for you at about 2even ii2h.'**

As an afterthought, and with a smirk on his face, he added:

**'at lea2t attempt two look pre2entable, ii'm 2ure you'll want two take lot2 of piicture2.'**

Sollux felt excited, this was actually shaping up to be a pretty good idea. He only hoped that Eridan would have fun, regardless of what they ended up doing on the date. Feeling smug, he felt his phone vibrate in his hand, and he marvelled at how quickly Eridan had responded, his face dropped slightly when he saw who had actually been the one to message him.

-.-.-.-.-

Eridan had been getting a little concerned about the date on Friday, whenever he tried to get any kind of hints out of Sollux, he was met with the same disinterested, nervous bullshit. To be quite honest he had started doubting whether or not the nerd actually had a plan or not. That is why he was so relieved, and also quite thrilled, when he got a text from Sollux that made it sound as if the other guy was actually _excited_ about the date. Eridan went about the rest of his day with a skip in his step, which Kanaya had found most amusing.

Feferi was already waiting for him when he got home, with their usual Friday night cereal and blanket already set up. Eridan appreciated the fact that Feferi hadn't minded moving their plans to another day so that he and Sollux could enjoy their date days together. Although, he was a little pissed that his sister had made the demand that Eridan had to wear the Seaworld shirt for her as punishment.

With their stomachs full of cereal, and a film on the TV acting as background noise, they were both feeling very content. Feferi had even brought over some nail-varnishes, and was enjoying having Eridan paint her nails a very pretty shade of fuschia. "So Eridan, tell me all aboat your day already! Jeez, you look like you're going to pop if you keep it in much longer." Feferi giggled, thinking about the fact that Eridan really had looked as though he had big news, but she had insisted on talking all about her boring day to annoy him.

"Finally! Fef, I've been waitin' through all your shit about cleanin' tanks an feedin' fish to talk here, I can't believe you'd make me wait when my news is obviously so important, I mean look at me! When is my news _unimportant_?" Eridan huffed a little, then grinned widely, "anyway, you know how I've been worried that Sol has been talkin' out his ass about havin' plans for Friday?"

Feferi nodded. They had spent about an hour and a half talking about it every night so far that week.

"Well, I think he's finally gotten his act together an sorted somethin' out!" He pulled out his phone and showed her the text, "look! He even wants me to go out an buy a whole new outfit for it, shit, it must be such a fuckin' perfect idea, Fef!"

"Whale, actually, he never said anyfin about buoying a new outfit... He just said to look nice." Feferi reread the text, then looked up at Eridan as he scoffed.

"Fef, I think we know what he meant by that. Sol _obviously_ wants me to get somethin' new an sexy. I'll have to go to the shops tomorrow an find somethin' perfect!"

There was no use arguing with Eridan when he was like this, so Feferi just smiled and agreed with him.

Eridan was about to put his phone away when it trilled in his hand, he was nothing but confused as he read the message from Sollux.

**'hey it was great seeing you today, i had fun. x'**

He barely had enough time to react before he received a second text.

**'2hiit 2orry about that ed, that wa2 2uppo2ed two go two miituna, don't know how ii acciidentally 2ent iit two you. 2ee you friiday.'**

Silly nerd. Eridan smiled and quickly sent a long-winded 'don't worry' back, but part of him felt a little jealous of the fact that Sollux put a kiss on a text to Mituna, but had never done the same thing for him. _'Eridan Ampora, don't you dare start gettin' jealous a Sollux an his brother, they got a bond that you an Sol don't have. So pack that shit in right now.'_ He berated himself inside his head, and returned his attention back to Feferi. They had to come up with a few ideas for what Eridan could look for in his new outfit. Afterall, planning was key in these kinds of situations.

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux sat in his room, horrified at his slip-up. He had meant to send that text to Aradia.

Aradia had been the one who messaged him that morning, asking if he wanted to go out and get coffee again, and against his best interests he had agreed. The two of them had met up in the same coffee shop as before, and spent an hour or so catching up again, but it was innocent enough! Sure, Aradia had rested her hand on top of Sollux's as she listened to him speak, but that wasn't exactly _bad_. She only kissed him on the _cheek_ as a goodbye, but that was _fine_ , friends do that all the time!

Sollux rationalised with himself for a long time, to try and prove to himself that it was completely innocent, because it _was_ , wasn't it?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Eridan came round on Friday, he was wearing a black sweater vest over a white long-sleeve shirt, and a grey tie. As usual, his trousers were tight as hell, and Sollux mused that the outfit looked as though it had never been worn before.

Eridan, Karkat, Sollux and Gamzee all sat in the living room together watching awful television all day. Eridan noticed, but didn't bring up the fact that Gamzee was asleep on his armchair, and didn't wake up until about five o'clock; once awake he began questioning where the cupcakes he had made earlier had gone. Karkat only groaned and told him to shut the fuck up.

The day was very relaxing for everyone, and both Sollux and Eridan enjoyed cuddling up on the sofa together. It didn't seem like anything was going to happen, but Eridan had faith, there was no way that Sollux would let him down. He began thinking that the plan may in fact be a dinner-date, because six o'clock came and went, and no one had eaten anything other than the pack of jammie dodgers that had been on the table, which they'd all been dunking in their teas.

Eridan kept a vigilant eye on the clock from around six thirty, counting the seconds until seven o'clock. He was excited to find out what Sollux had planned, especially seeing as he was being so secretive about the whole thing. Eridan was very sure that Karkat and Sollux had been speaking in some sort of code in front of him, but he didn't try and work it out because a large part of him wanted it to stay a surprise.

At about quarter to seven, Sollux left the room and hid himself in the bathroom. Now that the time was almost here, he felt sick to his stomach about it; his anxiety was flaring up, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. The fear swamped him and he was dragged into the inky depths. There was going to be so many people there, and it was such an unfamiliar place, why did he think this was going to be a good idea? The air around him felt thick, and Sollux struggled to gulp it down. He was going to die in a fucking bathroom, and it was all because he was afraid of going to the fucking fairground.

He slumped to the floor and held his head between his knees, still struggling to breathe. Sollux felt his eyes well up, but he couldn't care less; his whole body shook and he clutched his arms around himself and tried to calm down.

_It wasn't working._ Sollux felt his heart thumping, it felt as though it was going to bust out of his chest, oh god wait, was it going too fast? _He had to calm down._

_It wasn't working._ He couldn't breathe, his lungs were screaming and he hiccupped, desperate to get some air into himself. He couldn't fucking breathe. _He had to calm the fuck down._

_It wasn't working._ Sollux was going to die. It felt as if his whole chest was collapsing, his guts were knotted, and he was going to die here in a fucking bathroom. _He had to fucking calm the fuck dow-_

The door opened and someone poked their head around it, "hey, it's seven and-oh fucking hell, Sollux."

Sollux instantly recognised the voice as Karkat's, and he didn't know whether to slam the door in his face or beg him for help, but Karkat made the choice for him. He let himself in, locked the door and then dropped down beside him. "Is it a really bad one?" He asked, recognising his best friend's anxiety attack.

Not wanting to look up or even speak, Sollux nodded against his own knees. For once he welcomed the physical contact as Karkat put his arms around him, a little clumsily, and held him.

"Alright. Well, don't force yourself, that dick-bucket of a boyfriend has no idea what the surprise was, so we could literally blag it and just try and get a table somewhere. Or fuck it, tell him that the surprise is a nighttime stroll to watch the stars, he loves that romantic shit." Karkat rocked them both a little, trying his best to comfort his best friend, "come on, you'll be fine, you've dealt with worse shit than this, I'm with you now, so just... Focus on me, okay? Focus on me."

Sollux nodded again, and pulled his own arms away from his knees in favour of wrapping them around Karkat. He gripped at his best friend; Karkat was the lifesaver ring that would keep him afloat in this ocean of diarrhea. Sollux could still feel himself shaking a little, and he wanted nothing more than to hide in a dark room.

Karkat held his best friend tightly, "I'm right here. Okay, right, fuck." He knew he had to distract Sollux, and the best way to do this was by talking about something, _anything_ , "oh! Did you hear what Gamzee did this morning? He made cupcakes. Fucking _cupcakes_. Not that I have a problem with cupcakes, they're delicious and I can probably stuff my face with about twelve before I start feeling guilty. But do you know what he put in instead of sugar? _Sand_! Fucking _sand_! I mean, I'd understand even a normal person making the dumbass mistake of using _salt_ , but _sand_!? Why in the name of all that is good and holy did that ass-sniffing cock-goblin ever even _buy_ a bag of sand?"

Sollux rubbed his face on his sleeve and glanced up at Karkat, focusing intently on his words.

"Yeah, so it turns out he was off his nut and tripping, which explains his long-ass nap after he ate. He's a complete fuckwit, I swear. You realise that I had to stop him from eating the cupcake-slop after it came out of the oven? Yeah, he actually wanted to taste them to try and figure out what was wrong with them! I literally had to wrestle them off him and show him the fucking half empty sandbag on the counter! Oh fuck... I just realised... Gamzee licks the spoon and bowl after he's finished with the batter. That braindead prick's already EATEN the fucking sand crap!" Karkat slapped a hand to his on face, "The fucker ate the batter and didn't even notice that something was wrong."

Karkat looked at Sollux when he heard the breathy, nasally laughter.

"Why do we thtill hang out with him?" Sollux snorted, wiping his sleeve under his nose once again, "it'th like, aren't we big enough thocial pariahth ath it ith?"

"We're not as bad as we could be, I mean, I save you from locking yourself away and fusing to that damn computer chair of yours. Besides, now we can attach ourselves to your peacock of a boyfriend and ride the waves of his social calendar." Karkat leant his head back against the wall, grinning.

Sollux looked at Karkat grimly, "not sure you'd want that. The guy thtill hangth out with _Vrithka Therket_."

Karkat snorted, then cackled loudly, "I'm not even surprised, it could have been written in the stars that the two biggest bitches that have ever been spawned would continue to sniff around eachother. They probably just sit around feeding off the misery of others." After taking a moment to judge the awful, _awful_ 'friendship' that the two snarky egotists had, Karkat turned to Sollux, "how you feeling? Do you want to change the plans?"

The pain in Sollux's chest was gone, and he didn't feel as if he was dying anymore. He took a deep breath and was almost surprised at how easily it came to him, "I'm feeling better, thankth. And I think I'll be okay to go to the fairground. Fuck it, let'th do it." Sollux untangled himself from his best friend's clutches then stood up shakily, quickly moving himself to the sink to splash water on his face. His reflection still had slightly red-tinged eyes, but was looking much better than he had expected.

"Don't mention it, now go change your jumper, that one's covered in snot." Karkat offered another toothy smile as he got up, "I'm going to go wrestle Gamzee into the car, take as long as you need."

Sollux returned his attention to his reflection for a minute or so; the anxiety had died away to a dull thrum in the pit of his stomach, but he could ignore that. He turned and left the bathroom, quickly going to his room to look for his baggy black hoody.

When Sollux jumped down the last step, he found Eridan waiting for him, "why aren't you in the car?" Sollux asked, walking over to him with his hands in the large front pocket of his jumper.

Eridan met him halfway and hugged him, "I got wworried 'cause you wwere gone for so long." He refused to stop the embrace even though Sollux had started trying to walk.

"Don't worry about it, I'm cool." Sollux shuffled them to the kitchen, "it'th getting difficult doing thith, ED, can we maybe thtop till we get to the car?"

"No." Eridan half-dragged his snickering boyfriend out of the front door, and didn't even let go while Sollux locked it, but did unwind one arm to check that the door was definitely locked.

They piled into Karkat's car, and Sollux made sure that Eridan sat behind Gamzee, while he sat behind Karkat. He had to, after what happened to Mituna, he had an innate need to protect the people he loved most. Sollux only wished that _he_ could drive so that he could make sure Karkat would be okay. Just in case.

The thought was pushed aside as Karkat started the car and announced, "right, rules for the road time. No fucking around, no puking, no throwing shit out the windows, and no changing my fucking music. That means you, Gamzee."

Gamzee grinned and nodded, but was already reaching for the CD player as they drove away.

It felt like they had been driving for what seemed like hours when Eridan began pouting in the back seat, even though it had actually only been about forty minutes or so. He watched the houses as they swept past and he swore they had been down this street twice already. To distract himself he reached out and put a hand on Sollux's knee, squeezing it gently. He smiled as Sollux rested his own hand on top of Eridan's.

The sun had just started to go down, and Gamzee very eloquently put into words how they all felt as they saw the beautiful sunset, "look at that bitchtits view, one of the best things I have ever laid my peepers on. It looks like a motherfucker spilt a lava-lamp, and the sky is drinking all the coloured liquid and lava up, it's a ho-titty miracle is what that is."

Karkat rolled his eyes, "shut up Gamzee, you shit-streak. Right, Sollux, you want to check your reservation?" He glanced up into the rear-view mirror quickly.

"Nope. Let'th do thith shit." Sollux sounded determined and he squeezed Eridan's hand as if looking for some kind of support.

Eridan looked between the two, was this some kind of code speak again? Were they going out for dinner in a fancy restaurant? Would Gamzee be coming with them? Eridan doubted that a fancy restaurant would have anything like colouring pages to distract the tall man for long enough for them all to have a meal.

Karkat continued driving and smiled a little, feeling proud of his best friend for trying so hard. Now that he had been assured that Sollux definitely wanted to go to the funfair, he stopped taking the long route. Only time would tell if this was a decision that they would grow to regret.

As darkness slowly began creeping over the sky, they arrived at their destination. The funfair was brightly lit up, and Gamzee pressed his face against the glass with giddy excitement, "looks like motherfucking Christmas all up in this bitch."

Eridan silently agreed, with all those lights it did indeed look like motherfucking Christmas up in that bitch. "A funfair?" He asked, a childish smile growing on his face.

Karkat parked the car, "right, I'm going to be making sure this fucknut doesn't get lost, because the last thing we need is for him to start tweaking in the house of mirrors. Again."

Sollux snorted, "fuck, I remember that, he got naked didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did," Karkat grimaced, "and I was the one who had to go in and put clothes on him while he tried to peel himself like a fucking satsuma."

Eridan was completely in awe of how everyone acted as if this wasn't a horrifying event, and he could only stare as Gamzee turned around and gave him a double-thumbs up.

Karkat fiddled with his car keys as he continued speaking, "anyway, go have fun and keep your fucking phones on, because if something happens and we need to go, we all have to haul our asses back to the car, okay?" He pulled the car-unlocker button off the keyring and handed it to Sollux, "don't fucking lose that."

Everyone got out of the car, and Gamzee wandered off without a second thought, obviously drawn towards the bright lights and loud music. Karkat sprinted off after him, "lock my car, Sollux! We'll see you later!"

Sollux shook his head and pressed the lock button, then attached it to his own keyrings before offering Eridan his hand, "shall we have a look around, then?"

Eridan grabbed the hand and stared up at the lights with wide eyes, "you brought me to a funfair?" His voice was almost a whisper, "I've never been to one before."

"What the fuck? Really?" Sollux couldn't believe it, _everyone's_ parents took them to funfairs, didn't they?

"Yes, really, Sol. I never really got a chance to go seein' as my father was too busy to take us... To be honest, Cro probably went a few times with his friends, an I know Fef did, but I never have." Eridan appeared to be quite mesmerised by the look and atmosphere of the place, and Sollux knew he had chosen well. With their fingers laced together, Sollux led Eridan through the carpark and towards the fair, suddenly not feeling as worried about the crowds anymore.

It was noisy as hell, and Sollux had to keep a tight hold on Eridan as the hipster kept pulling to run away every time something sparkly or pretty caught his eye. They wandered around and played a few games, but Sollux had his eyes set on the rides, "ED, you've got to trutht me on thith, the rideth are jutht incredible," he grinned happily and ate a handful of baby blue candy-floss, "the adrenaline rush you get ith jutht fucking inthane."

Eridan frowned and tore off a tiny amount of the cloud-like sweet, "alright already, fuckin' hell we'll have a play on them... Sol, are you sure this shit is safe to eat? I don't imagine a place like this has very strict safety an cleanliness regulations, you know?" He glanced nervously at his boyfriend.

"Eat your fucking candy-floth before I kick your ath." Sollux rolled his eyes and looked around at the various food vendors, "shit, I want a burger. No, wait! Cheethy chipth. No! A hotdog. Fuck, I want everything."

"You're eyes are too big for your stomach, Sol." Eridan lifted the fluffy piece of cotton-candy to his lips and licked it, his eyes widening as the saliva made it dissolve quickly into a wet, blue mess on his thumb. He quickly grabbed a larger piece and repeated the experiment, "oh my God, this shit's so weird."

Sollux watched Eridan lick his fingers and thumb clean; he rolled his eyes and pressed the last little bit of candy-floss against Eridan's lips, "try to eat it the way it'th thuppothed to be eaten."

Eridan complied, and opened his mouth. He smiled as he licked the sugar off Sollux's fingers, "not bad, I suppose. Maybe I should give peasant food more of a chance." He laughed as Sollux jabbed him in the cheek with a damp finger.

When Sollux bought them both some food, Eridan was left to sit at one of the little, plastic garden tables that were dotted in front of the food vendors. The hipster fiddled with his scarf, then bit his lip nervously, keeping an eye on his boyfriend as not to lose him. Sollux returned after a few minutes with a couple of small, yellow styrofoam boxes, and he sat down opposite Eridan before laying them out on the table. "Bon apetit." He grinned, opening up the food containers.

Eridan felt ashamed that he was hungry enough to think that the greasy food actually looked mildly appetising. He picked up the plain burger and wrinkled his nose, "when in Rome." He muttered and began eating. It was greasy as fuck, and probably not even made with real meat, but it was actually pretty good and Eridan finished it in a ridiculously short time. He was even hungry enough to start eyeing up Sollux's hotdog, he swallowed his last mouthful before rubbing his hands together to rid them of crumbs, "I'm gettin' another. Do you want anythin' while I'm up?"

Sollux laughed and wiped the sauce from his mouth with a rough napkin, "another? Wow, lookth like thomeone'th enjoying their share of fucking peathant food." He said smugly, "yeah, get me a burger, with cheethe, but make sure you put ketchup on it, I don't want your dithguthting plain-ath burger."

"Fuck off, Sol." Eridan slapped Sollux's forehead with the palm of his hand as he strode off to purchase more questionable food. The fact that a few of the other people sat in the food area turned their heads to look at Eridan as he walked past, did not escape Sollux's notice. He finished his hotdog angrily, and glared at them, feeling nothing but contempt for these assholes. When Eridan returned with the burgers, Sollux leant across the table and pressed a rough kiss to his lips; biting Eridan's bottom lip before sitting back down. It was childish, yes, but he wanted to let everyone know that Eridan was _his_ boyfriend. He flashed Eridan a grin before flipping the containers open to find his cheeseburger.

With their stomachs full, the couple continued their exploration of the fairground, one stall stood out for Eridan, and he dragged Sollux towards it. They approached the shooting game; it was a small stall with a few BB guns, used to shoot down various sized metal targets. Eridan's eyes lit up as he saw it, and Sollux thought that maybe it was because he wanted one of the toys that were strung up; he found himself hoping to win something using his many years of playing various first-person shooters as experience, "hey ED, you want one of thothe dragonth?"

"Well, I wouldn't say no, I mean I think these are the ones that Rezi used to have, remember?" Eridan looked up at the armless, button-eyed dragon plush toys wistfully, "wait, are you offerin' to win one for me?"

Sollux merely shrugged and handed the vendor some money, then picked up the long rifle. He stared down the sight, "you can bet your ath I am." He began shooting, and noticed that it was a hell of a lot harder than his video games. "Fuck." He muttered, missing all but two shots.

Eridan smiled as Sollux was handed a lollipop for his effort, he then handed the vendor some coins and lifted the gun, lining up the sight. "Watch an learn, Sol." He took a deep breath and frowned. Sollux's mouth dropped open as Eridan didn't miss a single shot, and when the hipster was done, he pointed at a deep purple dragon with a white belly, "that one, please." He beamed as the vendor handed it over.

"ED, what the fuck?" Sollux asked incredulously, feeling too surprised to get pissy about being shown up.

"Sol, you seem to get more an more surprised every time we hang out, I'm not just a fuckin' geeky hipster, you know." Eridan looked amused as he stroked the long snout of his new toy affectionately, "my father insisted on takin' me an Cro huntin' when we were younger, an I used to refuse to shoot pheasants an crap, so father made me shoot cans an clay pigeons. I'm a fuckin' good shot, maybe I'll take you out an teach you one day, I know that father would probably appreciate me bein' with someone who likes to shoot shit." He laughed quietly to himself.

Sollux rolled his eyes, "I'm learning more and more about you every fucking day. You can shoot, you gave yourself thtitcheth, you can memorithe shit, you give a fucking exthellent blow-jo-"

"SOL!" Eridan shoved him roughly, and hugged his new dragon while he blushed violently.

"Fuck, ED! Calm down, it'th a compliment!" Sollux snorted and laughed his awful, nasally laugh. He straightened up and returned to his boyfriend's side, "tho what are you calling him?"

Eridan held out the armless dragon, and took a moment to think about it, "I believe that he shall be called Professor Elderflower. That seems like somethin' Rezi would a come up with, an I think it sounds like an appropriate name for him, wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't fucking know, ED, I probably would've called him Puff, or Thpyro, or thomething like that." Sollux shrugged, Eridan was much more poetic than he was, "maybe we can get him a pair of thupid glatheth and a thcarf like yourth." This earned him yet another shove. Sollux wrapped his arm around Eridan and grinned, checking his phone for any missed messages from Karkat. Thankfully there were none, and hopefully this meant that Gamzee wasn't high enough to think that the devil was trying to steal his kneecaps.

"Hey Sol, want to maybe try one a the rides?" Eridan offered, remembering that Sollux had mentioned wanting to ride them earlier.

Sollux grinned widely, "fuck yeth. Come on, we'll ride the two Ferrith Wheelth." He began pulling Eridan with a childlike excitement, wondering whether he should go on the slow one first to ease Eridan into the heights, or save it as something to calm the hipster down aftedr going on the fast one. Fuck it, he was too excited to get on the faster one. They got into the queue, and Sollux watched the Ferris Wheel; it looked as good as he had remembered. The little cars were spinning rapidly, and the people inside were screaming loudly; this made Sollux's stomach knot in anticipation, and Eridan's face drop.

"Sol, is that shit safe? Havve one a those cages evver flowwn off an killed the idiots inside? Shit, no, look howw fast it's goin'!" Eridan blanched a little and looked completely horrified.

"Yeth it'th thafe, no I don't think any cartth have ever fallen off and killed anyone, come on, it'll be fun!" Sollux promised, holding onto Eridan's hand tightly to make sure he didn't run off.

When it was their turn to get into one of the cars, Eridan looked absolutely terrified, and he shook a little. To try and alleviate some of the fear, he cuddled up to Sollux, and clung to the bar in front of him.

Sollux didn't help in the slightest, "ED, hold onto the Profethor, we're going to be thpinning round like fuck." After a second, he pulled off both of their glasses and pushed them into his own pockets, "don't want to loothe them, and there'th no room in your pocketth. Oh, and don't clothe your eyeth, you'll make yourthelf feel like puking."

Eridan made an exasperated, mournful noise and moved Professor Elderflower to sit between his legs, promptly clamping them round him. "He's not goin' anywwhere." He vowed.

The Ferris Wheel began turning, and Eridan shook with worry. Sollux noticed, and put an arm around him, but he was too buzzed to feel guilty. The ride picked up speed, and the car tilted; after rocking a few times it actually rolled over completely, and Eridan watched the blurry lights fly above and below him quickly.

While Sollux enjoyed the weightless feeling in his gut, and whooped with joy; Eridan was stuck frozen in place, screaming and trying not to panic too much. The adrenaline was delicious, and Sollux found himself laughing and drumming his feet against the bottom of the cage; which scared the shit out of Eridan.

"NO! Sol, don't! You'll make the bottom break, wwe'll die! Oh my God! DON'T!" Eridan screamed as they spun upside down again, his fear was making him irrational, and part of Sollux actually enjoyed seeing the hipster so shaken up.

"Shut the hell up, Eridan." He suddenly found himself feeling a little cruel, and he crushed his lips against Eridan's. The poor hipster didn't know how to react, especially when Sollux wrenched his hands away from the bar.

Eridan's eyes snapped open, and he tried to pull his wrists out of Sollux's grasp, but it wasn't happening. Fearing the fact that he would somehow fly off and die, he did the only thing that he could think of, and grabbed ahold of Sollux; bunching his fists in the nerd's shirt. If he was going to die, he was taking Sollux with him.

The terror and adrenaline-rush made the kiss feel so much more exciting, and both of them clung to eachother with a dizzying passion; the irrational fear of death, stemming from the fact that they were both at this bulking machine's mercy, crept through their thoughts. Sollux's tongue probed Eridan's mouth, but was promptly bitten.

They didn't pull away from one another until after the ride had slowed to a crawl, and Eridan thanked every deity he could think of that the car had finally stopped spinning, and rocked gently instead. He stared at Sollux breathlessly, and his voice was thick when he spoke, "give me my glasses back." He demanded.

Sollux raised an eyebrow and pulled both pairs of glasses out of his pocket, handing the thick frames to Eridan. Before he could put his sunglasses back on, Eridan snatched them away, "no. Yours stay off." He folded them and attached them to the front of his sweatervest.

"What the fuck, ED? I-"

"Shut up, Sol." Eridan stared at Sollux, his cheeks were tinged pink and his pupils were dilated enough that his irises were only a thin band of blue. Neither said anything as their car was opened, and they got out.

Eridan held Sollux's hand and pulled him away from the ride; he didn't stop pulling until they were away from the crowds and behind a stall. Once they were alone, Eridan let go of Sollux's hand and grabbed his shirt again, snarling. For the first time in years, Sollux actually felt a little scared about what Eridan was going to do; he was acting like the irrational, violent dick-head he had been in highschool.

"ED?"

"Shut up." Eridan pulled Sollux downwards and kissed him, quickly wrapping his arms around Sollux. He pulled away after a second, "I could've died, you fucker. Didn't you hear me screamin'?"

Sollux was a little shocked, this wasn't the reaction he had been expecting at all. He had just been bracing himself to get his head kicked in, "yeah, I fucking heard. It wath pretty funny to be honetht."

Eridan flinched, "you made me let go a the bar. I ha-" His words were cut off by Sollux, and his anger was quelled by the fact that Sollux was being so damn gentle and apologetic with his kiss. It was only after Eridan stopped biting, and relaxed a little that Sollux pulled away.

"Come on, I'll get uth thome more candy-floth and you can shout at me in the car." Sollux took Eridan's hand gently, and kissed his forehead.

"I want pink candy-floss this time." He grumbled, holding Professor Elderflower tightly with one arm.

Sollux rolled his eyes.

When they searched the car, it was too dark to see anything in the carpark, so they had to press the door-unlocker button about five times just to follow the flashing. They were actually looking forward to getting into the back seat and having a little innocent fun, as Eridan was still feeling very pissed off and their kisses were actually making him feel a little better.

Unfortunately the driver-side door opened just as they were both getting close to the car, and Karkat climbed out, "stop unlocking my fucking car you dick-sluts! I was just about to text you to tell you that we were waiting." He raised his eyebrow at the soft toy in Eridan's arms, "get in, and hurry up, Gamzee's tripping balls."

Eridan and Sollux climbed into the backseat, and put their seatbelts on. Karkat waited for Sollux to get the door unlocker-button off his keyring and hand it to him, then fiddled for a minute to get it back onto his own keys. "Did you kids have fun?" He asked, turning round to look at them.

"Thith athhole nearly shit himthelf on the Ferrith Wheel." Sollux snickered, "didn't you ED? ED?" He looked at his boyfriend, but found that he had slumped forwards having fallen asleep with exhaustion. Sollux rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around him, then pulled him close, "dumb ath."

Karkat smiled a little, "shit, the ride must've taken it out of him." He opened his glove compartment and pulled out a biro-pen, "I'll give you a tenner if you draw a knob and bollocks on his face."

Sollux smiled gently, looking at his boyfriend affectionately, "KK." He plucked the pen from Karkat's hand and pulled the lid off, "I would've done it for free."


	31. Meet The Captors

There was silence on both ends of the phone, and Eridan waited nervously for a response that didn't seem to be coming, "Sol? Are you still there?" He asked, hoping that his boyfriend was still holding the phone at least.

It was lunch time, and Eridan was stood outside the college cafeteria. He imagined that Sollux was in the same sort of position, as they both had college all day on Mondays. Eridan had gotten a phonecall from his father that morning asking, well more like _demanding_ , that Eridan bring Sollux round for a family dinner some time in the week. This was a non-negotiable event, and Eridan was a little worried about whether or not Sollux would agree to come. At first he had been confused as to how his father even knew about Sollux, but he received a text from Feferi apologising for ' _going on and on aboat your new buoyfriend and saying how fintastic a guy he is in front of your dad_ ' and how ' _super sorry 38(_ ' she was. Eridan cursed his blabber-mouth of sister and best friend.

He finally heard Sollux clear his throat, "yeah, I'm here, but shit, ED, thith ith a pretty big athk here, you know?"

Eridan rubbed a hand over his own face, "you think I don't know that? Look, this is the first time that Father has ever taken any kind a interest in any a my boyfriends, so I'm fuckin' scared shitless here, okay? Fuck, look, it's just dinner." He rationalised, trying not to make it seem like too big of a deal, "we'll go round, eat some food, talk to my family, an then you can come back to mine, please?"

Sollux groaned, and Eridan swore that it sounded as if his boyfriend was banging the phone against his own forehead, "fuck it. Fine." After a second he added, "but you'll have to meet my family for lunch, then."

"I'm up for that! Seems fair, an I mean, I wanted to meet Mituna anyway! Right, so on Friday, we'll go to your dad's for lunch and then we'll head to Father's for dinner." Eridan sighed with relief, to be quite honest he had already told his father that they would be more than happy to come round for dinner. Afterall, no one said no to his father, "thank you, Sol."

"Well my fucking plan to make you ath worried ath I am backfired, didn't it? Shit, my family aren't thcary in the thlightetht, ED." Sollux complained, and it sounded as if he was hitting himself with the phone again, "shit, I'll need to get a thuit or thomething. Fucking tit-wanking, shit-ballth! You're more trouble than you're worth, Eridan!"

Eridan rolled his eyes and smiled, "I'll see what I got lyin' around, okay? Don't worry, we got this, it'll be fine."

Sollux grumbled a little, "cheerth. Alright, I've got to head back to clath now, tho I'll talk to you later."

"Crap, same here, lunch is pretty much over. I hope your lessons go nice an quick." Eridan waved as Kanaya poked her head out from the cafeteria and tapped her wrist with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, thame goeth for you too, ED. Bye." Sollux always sounded so awkward when he said his goodbyes, almost like he was holding something back, or that he just didn't know how to end a conversation.

"Bye, Sol." Eridan bit his lip, then hung up. Thank fuck Sollux had agreed to come with him, because plan B involved tying the idiot up and dragging him to his father's house.

-.-.-.-.-

While Eridan had told Sollux that he was going to just lend him one of his own suits, there was no way that Eridan was about to give up a chance to go shopping. Besides, Sollux would _obviously_ be too tall and slim to fit nicely into one of Eridan's, or at least that's how he rationalised the tedious trip to town to Feferi.

In Eridan's opinion, it was a day well spent, afterall, Sollux was sure to look handsome and dapper, so at the end of the day, Eridan would be the one to gain something from the trip. He ended up only buying one suit, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the measurements that Sollux had text him were actually a pretty close fit to the shop sizes, so they didn't even need to worry about getting Kanaya to fit anything. Eridan patted himself on the back for his clearly very sneaky tactic of telling Sollux that he would just measure the suits he ' _already owned_ ' to find the closest fit, and had instead used his measurements to buy a brand new one. He was _definitely_ a master of cunning.

After putting the outfit on a hanger he had brought from home, and placing it carefully in a bag, Eridan dropped it off around to Sollux, and laughed in what he hoped was a convincing way when Sollux mentioned that it looked almost as if it was brand new.

When he got home Eridan checked his phone to find a text waiting for him.

**'ed are you 2ure thii2 2uiit ii2n't new?"**

He rolled his eyes, and contemplated sending Sollux a guilt-trip inducing text, but decided that this course of action may make him look a little obvious, so he settled on a more laid-back and casual scolding.

**'howw dare you sol are you tryin to imply that i am a liar because that is unfair an untrue an i resent that**

**it blatantly came straight out a my wardrobe fuckin hell just appreciate it '**

Barely a minute passed before Eridan received a second text. His face dropped as he read it.

**'oh, 2traiight out of your wardrobe huh? do me a favour ed, next tiime you want two bull2hiit me, at lea2t cut the tag2 off. ehehe, dumba22.'**

-.-.-.-.-

When Friday came around, Eridan had to have an extra long shower to wake himself up properly. He had been so anxious the night before that he had to take a sleeping pill to knock himself out. The suit he had picked was hanging up on the back of his door, and he stared at it for a good few minutes; trying to decide whether or not it was too casual to wear to his father's. _Shit_.

Before collecting Sollux, Eridan went to a bakery that he loved dearly. It was a tiny place that didn't really stand out much, but the shop was very cute and reminiscent of a French Patisserie. He bought the four most delicious looking cakes from the short, cute shop assistant, and as he said a thank you and goodbye, she flashed him a wonderful smile. Eridan really did love this place.

With the little cake box tucked under one arm, Eridan walked the short distance to a local winery, and spent about half an hour examining the bottles. He had a very vague knowledge of a few good wine years, as he had once read up about this subject on his father's wishes. There was no question in Eridan's mind that his father had done this to try and show him off to business acquaintances, it was most definitely a case of _'look how cultured and knowledgeable my son is'._ He finally decided on a fine Bordeaux wine, and the shit-eating smile the cashier had on his face as Eridan handed over his card did not go unnoticed.

Eridan felt a little bad that he couldn't buy Sollux's father a bottle of wine, but apparently alcohol wasn't allowed in the house on account of Mituna. He still felt rude as hell for turning up with only cakes though; Eridan had been brought up to always bring a fine gift to a dinner party, and even if this _was_ just a lunch date with Sollux's family, he still wanted to make a good impression.

With the feeling of guilt and the fear of looking like a bastard hanging over his head, Eridan drove to Sollux's to pick his boyfriend up. It was about half past eleven, and he only had to honk his horn as he pulled up outside the house to get Sollux to appear at the window.

Eridan watched as Sollux disappeared for a moment, and about a minute later he walked out of the building's front door. God, he looked fantastic in that suit. A sly smile tugged at Eridan's lips.

Sollux opened the passenger door, and moved the box of cakes and the bottle of wine onto his lap before pulling his seatbelt on, "you ready for thith?" He grinned a little nervously.

"Sol, I'm shittin' myself about both fuckin' meals. That bein' said, I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Eridan reached over and squeezed Sollux's thigh a little, "you look fuckin' incredible, an if Father wasn't such a ball-buster, I would a taken you an that bottle a wine, an just dragged you straight back to mine." He smirked a little and returned his hand to the steering wheel.

That comment certainly calmed Sollux's nerves about how he looked; he had been worried that he looked like an idiot wearing this kind of fancy clothing, but as long as Eridan honestly thought he looked good, that was all that mattered.

The journey to Sollux's dad's house didn't take too long, although Sollux accidentally gave the wrong directions at least twice, but he was able to cover these mistakes up thanks to the fact that Eridan had never been in this area before. When they arrived, Eridan began feeling worried; he checked his hair in the rear view mirror until Sollux poked him to get his attention.

"Right, ED, there are a few ruleth you should know, okay? One, do not touch Mituna. I cannot thtreth thith enough, he fucking hateth being touched by thtrangerth. If he grabth you to get your attention, then happy dayth, but theriouthly, he could flip out if you do it to him." Sollux rubbed the back of his own neck and sighed, "thecondly, no thwearing. Mituna hath a problem with it, and he goeth over the top thometimeth, tho if you hear him thwearing, ignore it and don't bring attention to it, me and Dad will deal with it. Third, if Mituna _doeth_ have a moment where he thtartth freaking out, don't go near him. Leave it to me and Dad, he won't mean to, but he could hurt you if you go near him."

Eridan swallowed and nodded, "I promise I'll follow your rules an do my best to keep myself in line." He offered a weak smile, praying that he wouldn't slip up and swear in front of Mituna.

Sollux sighed and opened the door, "you'll be fine, ED. Theriouthly. I believe in you." He snickered and moved the bottle of wine to the glove compartment before getting out.

The supposed belief that Sollux had in him didn't help Eridan at all. He got out and locked the car, checking three times before crossing the road to join his boyfriend at the front door. He glanced nervously at the cake box in Sollux's hand, shit, it wasn't good enough, why the hell did he think a couple of shitty cakes would be an adequate gift?

Eridan saw the net curtain flutter in the window next to him a second before Sollux pushed the cake box into his hands, "Sol?"

"Thtand back, ED." Sollux pulled his jacket off and draped it over Eridan, then grinned, "wouldn't want any of that thtuff getting wrinkled or crushed."

"By what?" Eridan thought that this was such a strange thing for his boyfriend to do, _'oh God, do they have a dog or somethin'?'_ He thought, a look of horror spreading across his face.

The door was flung open, and a fluffy-haired boy leapt onto Sollux, clinging tightly and cackling as Sollux swung him around in a playful hug, "THOLLUXTH!"

Eridan's eyes widened and he couldn't help but grin at the both of them; he had never seen Sollux act like this, it was completely endearing to witness. Eridan reasoned that the excited young man must be Sollux's twin brother Mituna; the resemblance was impossible to deny, the only real difference was the hair length and the fact that Mituna looked much more refreshed and well-rested. They even both wore the same kind of baggy, video game shirts.

Sollux set his brother down, "crud, Tuna, where'd you get _that_ from?" He asked, pointing at the large plaster on Mituna's cheek.

"You should've theen me Tholluxth, I wath doing the motht amathing trick, and I got like, a whole ten feet of air, but thomething happened and I crashed. Tula had to put thith on me, and dad thayth I wath lucky not to have broken thomething." Mituna snorted and cackled loudly, and Eridan noted that strange laughter must be a Captor trait, "who'th the nerd?" He asked, looking over Sollux's shoulder.

"Tuna, thith ith Eridan. Eridan, thith ith my brother, Mituna." Sollux waited until Mituna scrunched up his nose before whispering, "he brought caketh for uth."

Mituna's face split open into a wide, toothy smile, "hi Eridan, do you thkate? Only cool people get to come into the houthe, and if you're not rad in any way you can thit in the garden to eat." He cackled again, but suddenly made a noise of distress as he realised that Eridan would likely take the cakes with him, "shit no, no, you can come in, I wath kidding."

Before Eridan could say anything a very tall, slim man appeared in the doorway, "Tuna, that better not be a swear word I just heard." He raised an eyebrow as Mituna mumbled an apology, and Eridan noticed that the man had a much softer lisp than Sollux and Mituna. The man turned and smiled at Eridan, "I'm their father, Simon." He held out a hand.

Eridan quickly stepped forward and shook the hand firmly, "I'm Eridan, it's nice to meet you Mr. Captor," he heard Sollux laugh, and he blushed a little, knowing that he must look like such a tool acting as formal as this.

"ED, holy fu...dge. Get in before I blow a lung laughing at your dumb...neth," Sollux caught himself in time, and sighed with relief.

The four of them finally went inside the house, and Eridan smiled at just how homely it was. There were framed photos of the twins on the walls and mantlepiece, and it was very obvious that Simon was very proud of his boys. Eridan followed Sollux's lead and sat on the sofa with him, "you have a really nice house, Mr. Captor." He said politely.

Mituna looked a little confused and wrinkled his nose at Eridan, "who the fuck is Mithter Captor?" He asked, quickly clamping a hand over his own mouth as if to try and shove the swear word back in before anyone noticed it.

"Please, call me Simon, I can't stand any kind of formality," Simon flicked the back of Mituna's head as he walked past, "is everyone hungry now? I know Tuna is, so it's just a case of whether you two are."

Sollux slouched back; happy to be out of the tight jacket, "yeah, I could go for thomething, cheerth."

Eridan noticed Simon's slight lisp again, and resisted the urge to ask him if he'd had some kind of speech therapy, "yes please, I could help out if you want?" He offered, feeling like a bother.

Simon shook his head and flicked Mituna's head again as the boy tried to get revenge for the initial flick, "no it's alright, I think I can manage making lunch," he smirked a little and turned his attention to Mituna, "why don't you go bother Sollux while I cook?"

After realising that there would be no use in arguing, Mituna shrugged and dumped himself on the couch next to Sollux, "hey Tholluxth, gueth what, I showed Tula BG two! We beat it two timeth and unlocked Dritht _and_ Artemith!" He bounced a little, then looked at Eridan sceptically, "I bet _you've_ never even unlocked Dritht before."

For all Eridan knew, ' _Dritht_ ' could have been anything, but using his reasoning he guessed that ' _BG Two_ ' was a video game, and ' _Dritht_ ' was something highly sought after, maybe? There was no use even attempting to bluff, "I haven't unlocked it before, sorry." He shrugged. It sounded awfully familiar though.

Before Mituna could gloat, Sollux butted in, "Tuna, he'th never played BG before."

"Holy shit, theriouthly? Crap, thorry Tholluxth." Mituna apologised; once again slipping up and swearing. He jumped up from the couch and ran to the living room door, "Dad! I'm getting the Playthtation down to play with Eridan! DAD!"

They all heard Simon's voice ring out from the kitchen, "Mituna, I'm sure we don't need to set up the Playstation, do we? Sollux can show Eridan the game later, after they go home."

"But Dad! Eridan'th never played it before and I want to show him it! Pleathe Dad! I never athk for anything!" Mituna looked as if he was about to bolt up the stairs regardless. "Come on Dad, you don't very look cool when you act like thith!" He was positively whining at this point.

"Oh no, however will I survive?" There was a brief pause, then Simon gave in, "alright go and get it, but make sure Sollux helps you sort it out, okay?"

Mituna beamed and glanced at Eridan, "thith ith going to be amathing! Thankth Dad!" He sprinted off, and Eridan heard him thudding up the stairs.

Sollux groaned and walked after him, "he'th going to make you play through the whole thing, you know." He disappeared, leaving Eridan alone in the living room. When they returned, Mituna had been given the very important task of keeping hold of both controllers, while Sollux carried the console and the game.

After it was set up and plugged in, Mituna handed a controller to Eridan, "you can be player two, becauthe that'th what Tholluxth usually ith, okay?" He hesitated a moment before adding, "I like being the Cleric, tho you have to choothe thomeone elthe. You know, the Dwarf can get exthtra treasure with an ability." He promptly chose the Cleric and smiled.

Eridan stared at the screen and tutted; something seemed very familiar about this game, but Mituna had skipped the cut-scene, so he had no way of putting it into perspective for himself, "alright, I'll take your advice an have the Dwarf," he clicked on the Dwarf and joined Mituna to sit on the floor in front of the television, "you got to help me with the controls though, okay? I haven't got a clue how to play any kind a game."

Mituna rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I'll be healing you don't worry. Oh, don't buy potionth, you don't need them, and make sure you're not greedy with the loot, or I'll make Tholluxth play inthtead of you, and we share gold tho athk before you go buying yourthelf armour and weaponth." He frowned at the screen and Eridan found himself impressed with how organised the young man was.

The game was a lot of fun, and Eridan found himself relying heavily on Mituna for the majority of the beginning, but he found that no matter how many enemies he ran into, his teammate would always keep his health up.

Sollux watched them both, and found himself calling out words of encouragement, or pointing out any missed areas. He noticed Simon walk in with a large bowl of tuna pasta and another bowl of salad, when his father left the room again, Sollux turned back to Eridan and Mituna, "right guyth, lunch ith ready, pauthe it."

"Two more minuteth! We're tho clothe to getting to Baldur'th Gate," Mituna groaned, he jumped as Eridan suddenly slapped himself on the forehead.

"Baldur's Gate? Holy crap, I've been so distracted I didn't even notice that the game was called Baldur's Gate. God, I remember goin' there a few times when I was questin'!" He laughed to himself and put the controller down as Simon returned with plates and forks. Another thought suddenly popped into his head, "an does that mean that you was possibly on about Drizzt Do'Urden an Artemis Entreri?"

Sollux snorted in disbelief, but Mituna leant closer with wide eyes, "but Tholluxth thaid you'd never played Baldur'th Gate before." He paused the game and sat on the sofa, never once allowing his eyes to stray from Eridan, not even when Simon handed him a plate with a peanut butter sandwich on it.

"He wasn't lyin', I haven't played it before," Eridan groaned as he stood up and sat beside Mituna on the sofa, "Drizzt an Artemis are from these amazin' books, an Baldur's Gate is just a common place to regroup when playin' Dungeons an Dragons. You go there to sell your loot an buy wares. Oh, thank you Mr... Uh, Simon." He smiled at Simon as he was handed a plate and fork.

"You play Dungeonth and Dragonth? Like, the one with the different shaped Dithe?" Mituna asked as he started stuffing his face with his sandwich, "I never knew Dritht and Artemith were in bookth." He looked confused as hell, and Eridan felt a little guilty for wondering just how many books Mituna had _actually_ read before.

Sollux raised an eyebrow and began dishing up pasta and salad for himself, "theriouthly, ED? Dungeonth and Dragonth? Jethuth, and here I wath thinking you couldn't be more of a nerd." He laughed and handed Eridan the spoon as he joined him at the small coffee table, "I thought you wathn't allowed to play gameth."

"No, Father banned _video games_ from the house, but they never really appealed that much to me anyway," Eridan corrected, as he began filling his plate, careful to keep the pasta and the salad seperate, "but yeah, I used to play with Vriska's friends, but their characters never really lasted long, she would always end up gettin' annoyed at them, and feedin' them to the giant spider summon she had. You know I've never known anyone to roll as many perfect games as she did, I guess she just had great luck when it came to throwin' dice." Eridan said, sitting down on the couch once more, "You know, Tuna, I could teach you if you wanted? I mean, you have to use you imagination an stuff, but it can be a lot a fun."

Mituna chewed his food as he thought about it, "maybe. I'll athk Tula if she wantth to learn with me." He glanced at the paused screen, "the dithe alwayth looked fun."

Eridan smiled as he tried the food, "thank you for lunch, Simon, it's really nice." He began running things over in his head, considering his plans for the next week. Maybe he could spend a day with Mituna soon, and show him some of the basics of the game, "Oh! Sollux, how about next week I teach Tuna some little things about the game, I mean I could always change what I was goin' to do an save it for another time?" He offered.

Simon looked amused at the boy's antics, "so where are you initially planning on going next week?" He asked.

Sollux snorted and rolled his eyes, "ath if ED _actually_ thought that far ahead, come on, Dad."

"Actually, Sol, I _did_ thought that far ahead. I told you I got plenty of ideas, so there." Eridan turned his attention to Simon, "I was actually plannin' on bein' a little selfish next week an doin' somethin' that _I_ wanted to do. My friend works at the aquarium, an I was goin' to drag Sollux there."

Before anyone could say anything, Mituna punched the arm of the sofa and made an indescribable noise, "the aquarium? Like the plathe they have all the fisheth and the sharkth? I want to go too! Tholluxth take me with you!" He looked crestfallen when Simon shook his head.

"Mituna, you're not inviting yourself along to their day out, maybe I'll take you myself if you're good, okay?"

Eridan looked between them then quietly offered, "actually, if Tuna would like to, an if Sollux doesn't mind, I'd quite like to take Mituna with us... It would give me a chance to get to know him better, and it just seems like a really nice outin'." He glanced at Sollux, "oh, if we're allowed to, that is."

Sollux patted Eridan's hand, feeling completely grateful. He hadn't gone out with Mituna for a day trip in months, "can we, Dad?"

"Pleathe Dad, pleathe?" Mituna tapped his feet against the floor and gripped his knees with anticipation.

It would have been impossible to say no with the three of them giving him the worst puppy-dog eyes he had ever seen, so Simon just sighed, "if Mituna is on his best behaviour, then yes. But he has to be on his _best behaviour_ all week." He hid his smile behind his coffee mug as Mituna whooped and jumped up.

"I'M GOING TO THEE THE FUCKING SHARKTH!"


	32. Meet The Amporas

Sollux sighed as they got in the car, "thee, it wathn't too bad, wath it?" He patted Eridan's thigh. Simon had been thoroughly impressed with Eridan's offering of cakes, and had made it very clear that Eridan was welcome round any time.

"One down, one to go. An it's only goin' to get harder." Eridan groaned as he drove; he was so worried that Sollux would hate his family, afterall the Captors had all been lovely and welcoming, and his family would likely... Not be. He swallowed and resisted the urge to turn around and drive them home, especially with Sollux looking so handsome in that suit; Eridan stole a quick glance at his boyfriend and smiled, he decided that he would very likely buy Sollux another suit. As he allowed his mind to wander, he remembered something, "Sol, there was a lady in a few a the photos on your dad's walls... Was that your mum?"

"No, ED. That wath just the random homeleth woman that followed uth to family eventh. God, you should have theen her at the family picnic, she grabbed herthelf a bowl of colethlaw, jumped into the photo that Dad wath taking and then ran off into the thun-thet," Sollux rolled his eyes, "of courthe it wath my mum you fucking idiot. She died when me and Tuna were really little, tho, you know, don't thtart athking quethtionth about her, becauthe I won't know the anthwerth."

Eridan squeezed Sollux's knee apologetically, "I'm sorry to hear that, I really am. I shouldn't have brought it up."

There was a brief pause before Sollux spoke again, "don't worry about it. Tho what about your mum? You thaid your dad married FF'th mum didn't you? What happened to yourth?"

"She left me and Cro with Father, and we never saw her again. In all honesty, I wouldn't be able to pick her out of a crowd, I could a seen her a million times an I wouldn't even know." Eridan laughed, but there was no humour behind it, "I was too tiny to remember her, an there sure as hell ain't any photos of her up, so I don't even know what she looks like." He felt Sollux's hand squeeze his own.

The car suddenly felt a little awkward and sad, so Sollux quickly tried to steer the conversation towards a slightly more distracting topic, "tho what are the ruleth for your parentth houthe?" He asked. He watched as the houses they passed started looking nicer and more expensive, and was sure that Eridan would stop soon; they were already in one of the nicest parts of town, and if they drove any further they'd end up near the harbour.

Eridan clicked his tongue and thought about it, "well, I guess you just need to mind your manners, an maybe not swear too much? But seriously, don't let anyone talk crap to you, you have to stand up for yourself an shit... That bein' said, please don't be rude, or Father will likely get pissed as hell at me." He tried to hide a smile, "I don't want him to think I'm with an unsuitable ruffian." The car stopped at a traffic light, and Eridan took a second to look at Sollux. He blushed when his boyfriend ruffled his own hair and loosened his tie.

"An unthuitable ruffian? That thoundth a lot like me, ED." Sollux grabbed one of Eridan's hands and licked a finger, "maybe we _should_ go back to yourth, tho I can show you jutht how much of an unthuitable ruffian I am. Shit, the light'th green, ED." He laughed as Eridan fumbled with the car and started driving again. It was nice seeing just how much of an effect he had on the hipster.

They continued driving, and both felt themselves being filled with trepidation about the whole event. The houses that they were driving past were getting even bigger and more fancier looking, and Sollux suddenly felt extremely out of place; he wasn't like Eridan, he hadn't had a luxurious and obviously rich upbringing, and the only thing he could think about was how he was going to make an ass of himself and not seem good enough. The prospect of meeting Eridan's family suddenly came crashing down around Sollux, and worst case scenarios bubbled up in his mind; what if Eridan was banned from seeing him? What if Eridan's father put his foot down, and he couldn't be with Eridan anymore?

All of these thoughts were pushed aside as they drove along the harbour. The water glittered as they passed it, and the boats and yachts bobbed on the gentle waves, Eridan pointed towards a particularly glorious one, "that one there belongs to Father. He'll probably insist on takin' you out on it at some point. Most likely just to show it off to you."

Sollux stared at the yacht, "holy fucking shit, ED, jutht how rich _ith_ your family?"

Eridan only laughed nervously as they began approaching large houses with walls and gates, and both of them fell silent. Sollux was about to mock the flashiness of the fountain outside of a particularly grand-looking, white mansion, when he noticed that Eridan was slowing down as they approached it. They turned and drove up the long drive, and Sollux shrank back into his seat, feeling incredibly inadequate. Eridan parked the car and took a deep breath before pulling the wine out of the glove compartment, "right, fuck, okay. Wwe're here."

"Yeah I can tell, Jethuth Chritht, why didn't you tell me you lived like _thith_? I mean, shit, I exthpected a big houthe, but fuck!" Sollux quickly began tucking his shirt in and straightening his tie and waistcoat. He pulled his jacket on, and grimaced, believing that he must look a state, "I honethtly don't... Fuck, ED, what do I _do_?" Sollux put his sunglasses on his seat before looking at his boyfriend, there was no way he could wear them inside.

"Just be yourself. If they don't like you, then who gives a fuck?" Eridan's eyes roamed Sollux approvingly, he really _did_ look fantastic in a suit. He leant forwards and kissed Sollux gently, "Sol, you look perfect." With that, he smiled, then got out of the car.

Sollux relaxed marginally before following. He reached the doorstep just as Eridan used the gleaming, golden door knocker three times.

After a very short wait, a tall, broad man opened the door and held his arms wide, "lad!" He called out, and Eridan strode over to him and received a brief embrace, when they pulled apart, he noticed the bottle in Eridan's hand, "an what have you got there, boy?"

Eridan's posture had completely changed; his back was straight, and his head was held higher, he handed the bottle over, "you mentioned that we were goin' to have beef, so I bought a Chateau La Conseillante."

"Year?" The man asked, clearly pleased with the choice of wine.

"2009, I believe that it was a surprisingly good year." Eridan replied. Sollux could tell that he was looking for some kind of acknowledgment or approval, and it was almost sad.

"It was, and I suppose it's not bad for somethin' that had to be found on such short notice," the man turned his attention to Sollux, and held out a hand, "Oscar Ampora, an you must be the young Captor boy I've heard so much about."

Sollux grasped the hand and shook it as firmly as he could, but he felt pretty frail in comparison to the larger man, "hey, I'm happy to meet you," he said; hoping it wasn't too obvious that he was trying not to lisp. This meal was going to be hard.

Oscar laughed heartily, and shook his head, "relax, you don't have to be standin' to attention." He smiled, but Sollux noted that there didn't seem to be much warmth behind it. Regardless of this, he returned the smile. Oscar Ampora was an intimidating man; he had sharp blue eyes, and thick, dark hair, his suit was impeccably tailored and his shoes shone. He looked a lot like Eridan, but his features were much squarer, whereas Eridan's were softer, but the thing that stood out the most were two long, white scars that ran from his right eyebrow, and across his nose, coming to an end under his left eye. Sollux didn't dare to even _think_ about asking him how he got them. He felt very grateful as Eridan moved to his side.

"Are we goin' in or are we havin' dinner on the drive?" Eridan asked, moving a hand up Sollux's back to offer him some kind of comfort.

"Yeah yeah, come on, lad. Yer brother an Feferi are already in the dinin' hall," Oscar lead them into the mansion and closed the heavy doors behind them, "I'm afraid Meenah an yer mother couldn't be here for dinner. Candace had a very important business meetin' an God only knows where Meenah is, she's not really one for these kinds a things."

The fact that Eridan flinched at Oscar referring to Candace as his "mother" did not go unnoticed by Sollux, he felt the hand on his back tense up, so he put an arm around Eridan in a silent show of reassurance. He couldn't help but feel blown away by the grandeur of the Ampora home; everything either glittered or gleamed, and there were gold furnishings everywhere; the picture frames,the stair bannister, and just about anything with a trim or border. It was quite overwhelming, and Sollux felt like he most definitely did not belong here.

The Dining Hall was obviously used for grand events like business dinners, and it looked almost comical to see that the five of them would be eating at one end of the magnificent table, which would usually sit about thirty.

Feferi waved as they approached, and the man who was sat next to her looked up from his phone. Sollux was shocked at how much this guy resembled Oscar; he had the same squarish features, brilliantly blue eyes, and thick hair, although this guy's hair was jet black and slicked back like some kind of 50's throwback.

The guy smirked and got up, sauntering over with a thick, dark eyebrow quirked, "hey there, chief. The name's Cronus, I'm sure you've heard all about me from Eridan."

Sollux glanced down at Cronus' tight white shirt, blue jeans, shiny black Rockabilly boots, and holy crap, his arms were _covered_ in tattoos, "hey." He found himself shaking someone's hand for the second time that day.

"Cronus, this is Sollux, Sollux meet Cronus." Eridan did not seem all too pleased, "I trust that the introductions are out a the way, now let's sit down an eat." He pulled Sollux by the arm and sat him opposite Feferi, "Hey, Fef."

Feferi smiled guiltily at them and lowered her voice, "sorry again about telling your dad, I guess I made Sollux sound _so_ good that he just _had_ to meet you!" She shrugged, and giggled, "never mind, at least the food'll be good!"

Sollux grinned and kept his voice quite as Eridan sat down, "what'th new? I mean, I'm pretty fucking incredible, I'd be thurprithed if he _didn't_ want to meet me." He quickly sat up straight as Cronus and Oscar joined them at the table.

Oscar took his seat at the head of the table, with Eridan on his left-hand side and Cronus on his right. He smiled at them all and laced his fingers together, turning those clear blue eyes to Sollux, "So. What is it that you do, Sollux?" He asked, quickly nodded at a young lady as she stepped through the high, arched doorway.

"I'm in college at the moment," Sollux was too nervous to be avoiding his 'S' sounds, it was getting more and more difficult with him being on the spot like this, "and I work in computing retail too, but hopefully I'll be able to run my own company one day, but we'll have to wait and keep an eye on where my hacking and coding can get me."

Cronus drummed his fingers against the table, "coding and hacking? So, are you like, some kind of nerd?" He glared at Oscar when the larger man slapped his hands to get him to stop playing about, "fuck, calm down, old man. Use your words next time."

As he heard this comment, Oscar closed his eyes and sighed, clearly tired of Cronus' shenanigans, "as I was sayin', is there a lot a money in that line a work?" He asked, "or is it more of an enjoyment job?"

Sollux shrugged, "there _can_ be a whole lot of money, but you have to know where to look. And what with the internet becoming a monumental thing now, the demand for people like me will only get larger. If you can hack your way through any kind of precaution that a company might have put up, then you can earn a lot of cash by showing them where they had a flaw." He glanced round as two men and a woman came in carrying large silver platters of food; as they were laid out in front of them, Eridan looked clearly embarrassed. Sollux took a second to regain his thought process, "I've actually already gained a little bit of demand by doing a load of hacking, and earned quite a bit of money from it."

Oscar nodded, "it's good to hear you got a plan for yerself, I'd hate for my son to be with someone who didn't have their head screwed on properly." He motioned to the platters, "help yerselves everyone." He nodded to the staff, and they took their leave at once, then he opened the bottle of wine and poured glasses for himself, Cronus and Feferi, "can I interest you in some, Sollux?"

The offer was tempting, and Sollux could only imagine how much the wine cost; he bit his lip and nodded, "yeah, alright. Thank you very much." He didn't know when he'd get the chance to taste... Chatoe La Consablahblah again. Eridan passed his glass to his father, and then back again, and Sollux grinned at it. He felt a little smug when he saw Eridan pouring himself a glass of water.

As they served their own meals, Sollux found himself trying to hold back a little; but they had been cooked the most incredible looking roast dinner, and he couldn't stop himself from piling his plate high with beef, mashed potatoes and yorkshire puddings. He nudged Eridan after his first mouthful, and nodded towards his own plate with wide eyes, and Eridan had to try and stifle a laugh. This was going down as one of the best meals he had ever tasted, and may have even been _slightly_ better than chicken nuggets and chips. The temptation to pick up the gravy train and drink from it was very real.

Cronus soon perked the conversation back up, "so, chief, do you live with friends? Are they as cute as you?" He winked slyly.

Sollux cursed the greaser for interrupting his eating, "yeah, I live with two people, but no, I'm pretty much the only cute one there." He took a sip of wine, and damn, it was good.

This prompted a snort from Eridan, "pretty much. One of them's a nurse, who specialises in pathology, specifically hematology," he ignored the impressed look Sollux was giving him, "an the other is a baker, and I'm tellin' you all now, I would pay good money for his cakes, they're amazin'."

Feferi gasped, "Eridan, you have to get them for our next chill out night! I want to try them, and there's no way I'm letting you hold out on me like that!" She flicked a pea at Eridan and he ducked and make a squawk-like noise.

"Fef! Don't go flickin' shit at me! Jesus, we're havin' a meal, grow up." He straightened his jacket before flicking it back at her, grinning, unfortunately his aim was off and it ended up hitting Cronus.

"Eridan! Watch it you little shit, I don't want my duds getting grody," Cronus picked up the pea and threw it at Eridan, who looked positively horrified at the injustice of it all.

"Cro, throw it at Fef! She started it!"

Cronus sneered, "ain't that a bite, asshole. Now get bent."

Oscar cleared his throat, and everyone quietened down, "it would seem as if the only well behaved person here is our guest, an I am ashamed that it's my own children that are actin' like preschoolers."

Everyone looked a little guilty, apart from Sollux, who had taken the opportunity to try and clear his plate. He sneakily elbowed Eridan, and flashed him a smug grin.

There was a brief period of silence before Oscar spoke again, this time to Eridan. "Lad, I need you to go over the accounts soon."

Sollux looked up from his plate, "wait, you do the accounting?"

Oscar laughed and rested his chin on his hands, "course he does. He does the accountin' for me an a lot a my acquaintances. My boy's got a good head for numbers on those shoulders a his. He's been doin' it since he was about fifteen." He turned his attention to Eridan with a stern expression, "lad, you got so many better offers for jobs than you'll ever get with yer doodlin', an you know for a fact that I only encouraged you to take the damn course was so that you could get all the art out a yer system. You could make so much more money if you did accountin' full time, instead a part time. Stop with the lifeguardin' an come do some real work."

"With all due respect, _Father_ , I'm livin' within my means an I'm comfortable. I like doin' art an I love my lifeguardin'. I don't _want_ to do accountin' all the time!" Eridan narrowed his eyes, he hated it when his father referred to his art as ' _doodling_ '. He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying anything else, he didn't want to lose his temper at the dinner table, "but yes, I will take a look at the accounts whenever you want me to." There was no use in arguing against it, Eridan wasn't stupid enough to deny that the money he got from his father for doing the accounts was what supported him financially.

"Good lad." Oscar had obviously chosen to ignore Eridan's earlier comments, and instead focused on hearing what he wanted to hear.

Sollux found himself feeling a little shocked; all the time that he had spent making fun of Eridan for being a spoilt, little rich kid in highschool, and it turned out that he had actually been _working_ for his money the whole time. He didn't doubt the fact that Eridan got paid more than he probably deserved to be, but still, the hipster had been working. It was starting to annoy Sollux to hear just how little a childhood Eridan actually got, truth be told he had always assumed that Eridan had grown up with all the latest games consoles, and any other wishes his greedy little heart had desired as long as money could buy it. Instead, it seemed that the responsibilities and expectations far outweighed everything else in Eridan's early life, but at least Eridan himself could actually see just how much bullshit that was, and was trying to rebel against it.

Oscar turned his attention to Sollux, "you know, my boy is very lucky to have someone like you who seems to have an actual plan for the future, at least yer not chasin' fanciful shit around an hopin' it'll turn out right. Both a my boys want to pursue art an music instead a takin' on the empire I've built up with my bare hands." He shook his head incredulously, "I would a killed for the opportunities I'm givin' them."

Both Cronus and Eridan rolled their eyes, this was the same old bullshit that their father always said, the only difference was that this time, there was a fresh audience member. Sollux thought carefully before speaking, "you know what, I think you're right about the opportunity thing, I mean, if I had been brought up with a plan laid out for me, I probably would have taken it, even if only for the fact that I'd definitely have money and a future." He pushed a piece of carrot around his plate, still trying to avoid lisping, "but then again, I might have even turned my back on the opportunity in favour of a career in coding."

Oscar raised an eyebrow as he listened, but didn't interrupt.

"I think that at the end of the day, you have to think about both the money, _and_ whether or not you'll be happy. I don't know if I'd be able to continue with a job if I hated it, no matter what the paycheck happened to be." Sollux shrugged, then smiled at Eridan, "ED can do incredible artwork, and if he wanted to do it for a career, then I'd be behind him the whole way, cheering him on." He felt embarrassed at how awkward he sounded as he spoke, but at least he hadn't lisped.

Cronus laughed, "I need a doll who'll have my back like that! See, old man, Eridan's squeeze agrees with us."

Oscar shot Cronus an unamused look before turning his attention back to Sollux, "what I want to know is how my dramatic, childish, pompous, overreacting, and arrogant little boy, who always seems to have his head in the clouds, managed to get a partner who would support them like that." This time there was a slight warmth behind his smile, "I love him dearly, apple a my eye an all that, but he needs a good kick up the arse sometimes to bring him down to Earth. I hope he's bein' as good to you, as you are to him."

"Oh, don't worry about that, ED can be pretty good." Sollux fought to keep a straight face as Eridan leant across to peck him on the cheek; feeling very relieved that the tablecloth was there to hide the hand that stroked his inner thigh, and trailed across his zipper.

Once the dinner plates had been cleared, the serving staff came back and took everything away; replacing the empty platters with a blackcurrant cheesecake. Sollux found himself laughing when Eridan tried to sneakily scrape the fruit from his own slice, and drop them onto Sollux's.

-.-.-

Once they were back in the safe and quiet confines of the car, Sollux began reflecting on the night. It seemed as though Oscar didn't hate him at least, and Feferi had given them both a thumbs up as they left, which Sollux had taken as a good sign, but there was something playing on his mind. He glanced over at Eridan and noticed just how tired the young man looked. He didn't want to have to ask, but he had to, "tho you really did all the accounting for your dad when you wath a kid?"

Eridan sighed and started the car, "yeah. Like I told you before, I got an amazin' memory, an when Father realised that, he got me to read all these books to _better myself_ ," he ran a hand through his own hair, "I was the perfect little show-kid. A ten year old that can suggest the perfect wine for a meal, and can tell all the guests where the fuckin' grapes came from was always so entertainin' for his friends to marvel over, you know? So the accountin' thing was an inevitability, he just had to find the right books for me to read."

Sollux stayed silent, he didn't want to insult Eridan's father, but he was very close to calling him out on his selfishness.

The drive home felt like it went on forever, and Eridan looked absolutely exhausted. Sollux bit his lip and watched the street-lights as they whizzed past, "look, if you're too tired, I can go home, theriouthly, I don't mind." He offered, not wanting his boyfriend to feel as if he had to stay up and do something to avoid being a rude host.

Eridan shook his head, "no, I want you to come over, I'm just feelin' a little drained is all." He smiled and continued driving, feeling very grateful that Sollux would make that offer. "Besides, I ain't wastin' what could be the only chance a seein' you in a suit."

Sollux looked down at himself, and personally thought that he looked a little dishevelled and messy, "you actually like me in thith?"

"Very much so."

The rest of the journey was quiet, and both of them contemplated different things; their minds filled with questions, but weighed down with exhaustion. Sollux thought that he'd probably be able to sleep for a month at this rate.

Eridan yawned as he shut the car off, "I'm thinkin' we just go straight to bed. I kind a want a shower, but I really cannot be fucked to be honest."

"Thoundth like a plan, ED." Sollux muttered as he stretched and got out of the car. He didn't wait while Eridan checked that the car was certainly locked, instead choosing to press his forehead against the cold wood of the front door. He grumbled as Eridan tried to squeeze past him to reach the keyhole.

When they were both inside, and the door had been checked a total of five times, they both kicked their shoes off and trudged upstairs to Eridan's bedroom. Sollux flicked the light on, and was once again blown away by how impeccable it was in there; as Eridan shuffled off to the bathroom, Sollux looked at himself in the floor length mirror. He hadn't really had much of a chance to look at himself yet, and that was a shame, because he firmly believed that he at least looked _presentable_. He flashed himself a grin and leant close to his reflection, staring at his eyes.

The thing that shocked Sollux most was that the voice in his head was not cruel like it usually was, it didn't even sound disgusted. No, it was quite the opposite. The usual feelings of worry which would bubble up through his guts, and spread through his veins to clutch at his mind, were suppressed.

The voice inside his head was Eridan's, and it could only say one thing as Sollux looked at his bi-coloured eyes.

_'Perfect.'_

When Eridan returned from the bathroom, he was smiling, "thank fuck, I was worried you'd have gotten changed already."

"Oh. No not yet, I wath about to thou-" his words were thrown away as Eridan briskly strode over and pressed a kiss to his lips. Sollux could feel the longing behind the kiss; he parted his lips and moved his tongue forwards to meet Eridan's, and he vaguely thought about how he could taste mint. His head spun a little, and he found himself gripping Eridan tightly, as if this would somehow keep him anchored, and stop him from being swept away in some kind of unknown vortex that must have been happening, because why else would his chest feel so tight, why else would he be struggling to breathe?

Eridan groaned quietly, and pushed Sollux against the wall, never once allowing their kiss to break. His eyebrows furrowed, and he pulled at Sollux's bottom lip with his teeth; grateful that Sollux was holding him closer, he ground his hips against him, then grabbed Sollux's left leg and pulled it upwards, feeling quite pleased when the nerd hooked it around him.

"ED, fuck, let me take thith fucking thing off." Sollux tried to shrug the black jacket off, but Eridan snapped at him.

"Just leave it on for a minute, fuckin' hell," Eridan pressed open-mouthed kisses against Sollux's throat, "you've been prancin' around in that all fuckin' day, an I've been on edge because of it, so you can keep it on for a little while longer for me." He kissed his way up to Sollux's ear and nipped it playfully.

There was no way in hell that Sollux was about to argue; he leant his head back and shifted his leg a little higher, already able to feel how hard Eridan was as he tentatively moved his hips.

Eridan's fluid and effortlessly smooth movements were driving Sollux towards becoming a panting mess. He hummed as Eridan pressed against him, and whispered a myriad of colourful language under his breath, and his own movements seemed clumsy in comparison. It was unfortunately getting harder and harder for Sollux to coordinate his movements, and as much as he liked the idea of being fucked against the wall, the fact that his legs had begun to feel as if they were made of jelly was pissing him off, "ED, we're moving to the bed." He unhooked his leg and pulled Eridan away from the wall and across the room.

Sollux dropped onto the bed, and quickly pulled off his blazer, but didn't dare remove his waistcoat, shirt or tie. Truth be told, it was the most invigorating thing to have someone getting so worked up over how he looked, and he wanted to savour it for as long as he could.

Eridan wrenched his own blazer off, and threw it unceremoniously across the room. He was about to say something, but the words caught in his mouth, and dissolved into nothing. Sollux was sprawled on his bed; with flushed cheeks, and ruffled hair, his lips were slightly parted and his gorgeous, perfect, mesmerising eyes were lidded and slightly glassy. There was nothing that had, or indeed would, ever exist that could possibly look more perfect, or so Eridan thought before Sollux unclasped his belt and kicked his own trousers off. _Ah yes, perfection._

Sollux waited until Eridan had also removed his trousers before pulling his tie roughly to get him onto the bed, he sighed as the hipster sat on his lap and rested his hands on his chest. Sollux sat up and kissed Eridan's neck, he shuddered and keened as Eridan ground his hips downwards and rubbed every inch of their clothed erections together. The noises that Eridan was trying to stifle made Sollux grin, and he moved a hand down to stroke him through his boxers to try and tempt the sounds to become a little louder.

"Fuck, Sol," Eridan whispered next to Sollux's ear; his breathing hitched as Sollux pulled his boxers down and palmed him. Eridan bucked against his warm hand involuntarily, and gasped. Sollux ran his thumb over the tip, and felt Eridan's thighs shake a little as he rubbed the slit gently.

Sollux felt the familiar sensation of warmth spread through his body with it's bright coursing light. He regrettably removed his hand from Eridan's dick for a moment to pull his own boxers down and off; he groaned as they pressed together again, and he leant up to kiss Eridan. He felt Eridan's moan vibrate through his tongue, and Sollux wrapped his arms around him. Their kiss flipped from being gentle and affectionate one second, to rough and a little forceful the next; both understanding that there were some pent-up frustrations that needed release, and this was the best way to get it.

When Eridan pulled away, his breathing was ragged, "do you wwant to..." He looked away as he groaned quietly into the back of his hand, his voice had started to wobble a little.

The sight of Eridan looking so dishevelled in his long-sleeve shirt, waist coat and tie, made Sollux's heart feel tight. It was a sight that was reserved for him alone, and he relished in that; this was his moment, and he hoped like hell that Eridan thought the same about him. Sollux reached out and gripped Eridan's thighs firmly, "fuck yeth, but only if you want to."

Eridan sighed gratefully, "oh thank God, I wwas wworried you'd say no." He leant across Sollux and pulled open the bedside cabinet, producing a small plastic bottle of lube. He paused for a second and his eyes flicked to Sollux's for only the briefest moment, "so wwho's doin' wwhat?" He asked, and his face turned a bright shade of red.

How could this guy even get nervous or embarrassed about this? Sollux would be lying if he didn't say that he found it really quite endearing; he leant close and trailed kisses along Eridan's jaw up to his ear, and he lowered his voice in what he hoped was a sultry tone, "and what if I wanted to be the one that fuckth you?"

The reaction was instantaneous, and the hipster shuddered and rutted against him, "Sol... If that's wwhat you wwant, then wwe'll do that." Eridan could hardly speak, the only thing he could try to do was press himself closer to Sollux.

Sollux sneered and bit Eridan's ear before swiping his tongue against it, "that'th not good enough, ED. I want you to thay you _want_ me to fuck you."

Eridan rolled his hips once again, rubbing his own dick against Sollux's hand desperately, "I wwant it. I wwant you to fuck me, oh God, Sol, fuck me." Eridan's face flushed a few shades darker, and Sollux smiled at the fact that the hipster was so flustered about this. Eridan uncapped the plastic bottle and handed it to Sollux, then ran his hands through the nerd's short hair.

Sollux squeezed out a generous amount onto his fingers and reached behind his boyfriend, he pressed his lips against Eridan's and tried to help him to relax as much as possible. He flinched as he felt Eridan pulling his hair a little, but he didn't say anything. As he pushed a finger inside Eridan's entrance, Sollux heard the sharp intake of breath, and was a little worried that maybe he'd hurt Eridan, that was until he started moving against his hand.

The noises that Eridan had begun making were fantastic, and Sollux slipped his middle finger inside also. He experimented with stroking, stretching, and curling his fingers, trying to find what would gain the best reactions. It didn't take long before Eridan was peppering his neck with kisses and whining softly, "Sol, please, come on."

Each little kiss left an electrified print on his skin, and Sollux thought that Eridan's lips must be made of iron and fire, because they felt so damn warm, almost as if they burned with the ferocity of the flame in Eridan's very core; the flame that lit up his eyes with that brilliantly intense blue lustre that made Sollux's heart ache. He was completely unable to refuse his boyfriend anything at this point, so Sollux pulled his fingers out of him, and stroked his own dick until it was slick and wet. He pulled Eridan close and kissed him; trying to resist nipping or biting him in any way, to keep him relaxed. Their tongues rolled against one another, and Sollux sucked on Eridan's bottom lip gently, as he did this he gripped his own erection and pulled Eridan down a little.

Eridan lowered himself, and gained a lot of comfort from the hand on his hip. He felt Sollux's cock press against him, and he pushed his own hips downwards; the pressure was welcomed, and he bit his own lip as he felt the tip of Sollux's dick nudge into him. He heard Sollux gasp, and felt the nerd tense up beneath him, and he pressed their foreheads together affectionately; the brilliant white light in his chest raged through his veins, and as Eridan's heart thudded in his ribcage, he was sure that the heat had spread all the way to his fingertips.

There was no rush, nor was there any need to. Eridan eased himself down slowly, and allowed Sollux to fill him completely; his body screamed for the other man, and his back arched as he engulfed his length completely. He moaned desperately, and fisted his hands in Sollux's shirt. After taking a moment to focus on the feeling of pure bliss, Eridan slowly began rocking his hips.

Sollux hadn't imagined that Eridan would be so tight, and it was because of this fact that he found himself completely at a loss for any kind of intelligible language. His hands gripped Eridan's hips, and he couldn't stop himself from lifting Eridan up a little and wrenching him down again. They both cried out in unison, and Sollux felt every nerve in his body come alive; he could hardly believe that he could hear anything over the pounding of his heart, but Sollux felt his face heat up as Eridan pleaded from above him, "don't stop, oh god, Sol, don't stop."

They moved together, and their rhythm reached a frantic speed; Eridan held onto Sollux, knowing that he would wake up from this dream at any moment, because he always woke up, he begged everything and anything to let him stay in this dream forever because everything was perfect and Sollux was his, and he was Sollux's, and everything was _fucking perfect_. He felt the waves of pleasure crash around him, and sweep through him. His muscles tensed and he recognised the familiar signs of his peak, "Sol, I'm so close, please..." With Sollux gripping his thighs tightly, Eridan began stroking his own erection; firmly pumping the member as stars exploded beneath his eyelids.

Sollux barely heard Eridan; his own body and mind were in chaos, but through the storm of lightning and rain that burned his nerves and thrashed his core, Eridan was his anchor, and he held on for dear life, feeling himself teetering over the dark precipice and knowing there was no turning back. "Oh god, Eridan," Sollux's movements became erratic, as he quickened their already desperate pace.

"Fuck, Sol!"

Eridan tightened around him and cried out with unashamed pleasure; and Sollux found himself falling head first into the black abyss, clawing Eridan's thighs with shaking hands as their orgasms ripped through them both with a deep pulsating light. Sollux's mind flashed from the alarmingly warm, unending darkness to an exhausted white, where he and Eridan shared breathless whispers and the softest kisses.

Neither spoke for a while. They instead opted to press wordless lips against one another, a gentle reminder of their shared affection that needed no mention.

After a few moments, Eridan peeled the rest of his clothes from his body. grimacing at the mess they had made, and Sollux followed suit. Though they were both still exhausted, Sollux murmured in a weak voice that they would need to clean themselves up, and Eridan lamented that this meant that they would _unfortunately_ have to take a shower together.


	33. The Unexpected Visitor

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and it was warm enough to only warrant a pair of board shorts and a light shirt, and Eridan took full advantage of the mild weather by taking a long walk after he was finished with college for the day. Unfortunately, Sollux had said that he was busy with a friend, so he didn't join the lovely walk, but that was his loss. Eridan returned home with a spring in his step, and his lungs full of fresh air. He didn't even mind that the sketches of flowers and birds that he had done weren't that good, he was in a positive enough mood that he counted it all as experience, instead of the usual hideous failure.

Eridan had just started to get the things out of the fridge to prepare himself a sandwich, when he heard his phone go off; he pulled it out of his pocket with an excited grin, hoping that it would be Sollux saying that he was done hanging out with his friend, but it wasn't.

**'Hey looooooooser, we're coming over to do some larping. Get the kettle on, I want a coffee w8ing for me when I get there :::;) hurry up!'**

Fuck. Vriska was heading over. Eridan pressed his face against the fridge and groaned loudly. It was true that he needed to do some more life-sketches for a project, but he had planned on using Rose and Kanaya. There was no point in even trying to argue, Vriska and her troop would very likely be over any minute now, and they wouldn't listen to him if he told them to fuck off anyway. He put the kettle on, and resigned himself to his fate.

The black coffee was set down on the table when the door was knocked loudly, and Eridan answered it with a scowl, "Vris." He said curtly.

Vriska flicked her hair and strode into the house, closely followed by a grinning Terezi, "oh, Eridan, wipe that look off your face. Didn't your parents ever teach you that if the wind changes direction your face will get stuck like that?" Vriska continued through to the kitchen, and Eridan heard her exclaim as she saw her coffee, "oh good boy, Ampora! So you _can_ follow orders, afterall!"

Eridan barely even registered that Vriska had been speaking; he moved out of the way of the door as someone with very long, curly hair walked backwards up his steps, pulling Tavros' wheelchair. Words failed him, and he felt a mixture of anger and numbness as he realised who it was.

The door was closed, locked, and checked three times, before Eridan actually forced himself to look at his guests. Tavros gave a shy greeting, and the familiar face smiled at him with bright red lips, "hello Eridan, it's been a long time hasn't it? I got back in contact with Vriska a little while ago, and she told me that you guys still larped, so I just had to join back in."

"Aradia." Eridan nodded in recognition, and held his shaking hands behind his back, hoping that his voice wouldn't wobble in a similar manner, "it really has been a wwhile. Just follow Vris through to the garden, an I'll be out in a minute, I need to get a sketchbook." He cursed his slip-up, but hoped that Aradia hadn't noticed it. As he ascended the steps to his bedroom, his mind was in chaos; should he tell Sollux, or should he keep quiet? Was there a way to tell Vriska that Aradia wasn't welcome in his home? What the fuck was he supposed to do?

When Eridan joined the group in the garden, they had set up a few drinks and snacks on his wooden garden table. He sat down on his usual deckchair and turned to a clean page, ready to start sketching; he made the silent decision not to draw Aradia, just in case Sollux went through his sketchbook again and saw her.

The minutes dragged on, and Eridan found himself pulling faces and mocking Aradia whenever she spoke, behind the safety of his sketchbook of course. He hated her for what she did to Sollux, and he just couldn't relax in her presence. Eridan was concentrating so intently on a drawing that he nearly screamed when a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"That looks pretty shit, Eridan." Terezi said, tutting loudly, "your lines are choppy as hell, and it's scruffy. You disappoint me."

Eridan scoffed, and pointed at the smooth pencil curves, "excuse you, Rezi, this looks pretty fuckin' good, I mean, look at these damn..." He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "for fucks sake." He groaned quietly as he listened to the blind girl hurry back to Tavros, cackling with pure amusement. His ears perked up as he overheard Aradia and Vriska talking amongst themselves while sat at the garden table, but could only pick up a couple of sentences.

"But he was such a loser! Why would you even _want_ to hang out with him?" Vriska lifted a glass of lemonade to her cerulean lips, and Eridan silently cursed the lipstick smear that she left behind.

Aradia shrugged, "I still like him, and he's really not as bad as you say he is. Who knows, at the rate we're getting along... You never know what could happen." She was cut off as Vriska glanced up and caught Eridan's eye.

"What are _you_ looking at, nerd?" She snapped, grinning wickedly, "stop eavesdropping, and get drawing. You should feel privileged to have the opportunity to sketch my gorgeous figure." Vriska flicked her hair once again and set down her glass, then stood up to strike a pose.

Eridan scoffed loudly, and turned back to his sketchbook, "one, how dare you say I was eavesdroppin' when I blatantly was not, an two, it's anythin' _but_ a privilege to be sketchin' your flat chest an ass, you bitch." He ran a hand through his own hair, and smirked. This was a bitchy front to hide the fact that he was extremely disappointed in not hearing more of their conversation, besides, he wasn't _eavesdropping_ , he was simply _overhearing_ a possibly interesting story. There was a very big difference.

Although he kept a vigilant ear open to hear the conclusion of that story, it was never brought back up. This pissed Eridan off even more, because he wanted to know who Aradia was hanging out with, though he speculated that it may have been Equius.

The minutes became hours, and eventually Eridan put his sketchbook to one side, closed his eyes and relaxed in his chair; he had decided that doing a little sunbathing seemed like the best use of his time, afterall, he had done enough art to feel satisfied in himself, and thought that he may as well do something _he_ wanted to do while his garden was being invaded. It didn't take long before the voices of the people nearby began to ebb away; everything felt so insignificant and droll, and soon, Eridan fell asleep thinking of Sollux.

_They were walking along a beach; Eridan could feel the sand beneath his feet, and he could smell the salt on the air. Their words were lost to the calming shush of the waves breaking on the shore, and it was perfect. Or at least, it was, until Sollux handed Eridan a book that seemed to appear from thin air._

_Eridan's tongue felt heavy, and the words seemed to echo strangely, "Sol?"_

_Sollux smiled, but it was humourless, and almost cruel looking, "I'm going to go hang out with a friend, Eridan. You can wait here for me," he covered his odd-coloured eyes with his sunglasses then turned to leave, "I'm sure I'll be back at thome point to hang out with you again, if nothing more important cometh up, that ith."_

_This didn't make any sense, but as Sollux walked away, Eridan found that he couldn't move. The sand suddenly felt coarse and gritty, it dug into the soles of feet and made him wince, the only thing he could do was call out indignantly, "Sol! Come back!"_

_Upon hearing these words, Sollux hesitated, then turned round, and for a split second, Eridan allowed himself to believe that Sollux would return to his side. This hope was dashed as Eridan saw the sneer plastered across Sollux's face, "why would I come back? You fucking dithgutht me. But don't worry, Ampora, you can jutht go back to your bookth like you alwayth uthed to."_

_"No, Sol, please," Eridan tried to speak louder, but was unable to raise the volume of his voice above a whisper, "don't leavve me on my own, I don't wwant to be alone again." He reached out for Sollux and tried to take a step forwards, but his feet were still stuck in place, so he toppled over and landed on his knees. Eridan clenched his hands in the rough sand, and it felt like shards of glass; callous laughter rang out around him, and he looked up with humiliation burning from his gut up to his cheeks. Sollux was gone. Eridan's chest felt as if it was full of fire and bile; a burning, poisonous weight that hung inside his rib cage, and made breathing difficult._

_The books had multiplied, and instead of seeing them as a form of comfort and entertainment, Eridan was only reminded of the years of solitude and wishful thinking. The books were every single responsibility his father had put on his shoulders, every single evening spent alone and wishing for friends, every single fucking piece of useless information and trivia that filled his head and made him feel like some kind of performing monkey. He was drowning in books and pages, and yet, he still found himself begging for Sollux to return, "please, Sol! I don't wwant to be alone, please! Sol! Come back!" The mountains of books were blocking out everything, and suddenly Eridan couldn't hear the gentle lapping of the waves, he was unable to smell the salt in the air, there was nothing but books, "come back!"_

Eridan jolted awake and gasped for breath, it took him a moment to even remember that he had company round, but none of them seemed to notice that he had even fallen asleep in the first place. It was all just a dream. Well, of course it was, Sollux would never abandon him for some unnamed friend, so it didn't even warrant a second thought.

Even so, the events of the dream were burned into his head, and it was hard for Eridan to ignore just how helpless and pathetic he had felt. It itched at the back of Eridan's mind, and fed on his insecurities, pumping it's toxic virulence into his subconscious thoughts.

Unfortunately for Eridan, he had to put up with his guests for another hour and a half before they decided that it was time to disband, and leave him alone. As Eridan walked them to his door, he glared at the back of Aradia's head, but quickly had to turn his attention to the obviously very interesting wall when she turned around to speak to him.

"Thanks for having me round, Eridan." She smiled, and Eridan hated that she looked so pretty when she did, "you know, it's a shame that you don't don that lovely violet outfit and take up Dualscar's title once more."

Eridan tried his best to return the smile, but knew that it must have looked pretty fake, "well, as much as I'd love to play again, I think I outgrew it all. Although, I'm teachin' my boyfriend's brother how to play D and D, but I doubt we'll be dressin' up an shit, you know?" Eridan smirked, and considered mentioning Sollux by name, but decided against it, just in case she asked about hanging out, or saw Sollux in the street and started up a conversation about him, or something awful like that.

Aradia's smile widened, and she clapped Eridan on the shoulder, "you have a boyfriend? Congratulations!" She looked genuinely happy for him, "you know, I'm actually getting pretty close to a guy myself, and I have a feeling that he feels the same way about me, so who knows, maybe we can double-date and dress our boyfriends up or something." She seemed pretty excited, and Eridan almost felt bad for acting as if he gave half a shit, which of course, he did not.

"Well, that sounds like so much fuckin' fun," Eridan lied, he would rather be bisected to be quite honest. As much fun as the thought of getting Sollux to dress up as some kind of pissed-off mage was, it would never be worth how horrified, hurt, or maybe even sad, being face-to-face with Aradia would make him. Eridan helped Aradia get Tavros down his steps and then returned to his house, keeping the happy act up, "anyway, try an give me some kind a warnin' that you guys are comin' round next time? That means _you_ , Vris. I would appreciate you showin' me at least _some_ respect." He ignored the middle finger that was currently being directed at him, and closed his door. After completing the usual lock and checks, he made his way back to the kitchen to wash up and finally make his sandwich.

Once Eridan had prepared his food, and was sat at the kitchen table, he suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore.

The dream was playing on his mind, and it made his stomach knot with trepidation. He wouldn't even admit to himself that he was a little uneasy about the fact that Sollux wouldn't give the name of the friend he was spending time with, but then again, it wasn't as if Eridan had actually asked.

He huffed and rested his head on the table, pouting as he picked at the bread on his plate. Eridan hated feeling this way, he didn't want to be the jealous or suspicious boyfriend in the relationship, but the dream had struck a nerve. After weighing up the possible outcomes, Eridan pulled out his phone; he smiled at the background he had of himself and Sollux, and his mind drifted momentarily back to their 'beach' gaming day. This was followed by a pang of guilt; how could he possibly doubt Sollux when they were just so goddamn perfect for eachother?

Just as Eridan was about to pocket his phone, it vibrated in his hand. He glanced down, and sat up straight, quickly answering it, "hey Sol, I was just thinkin' about callin' you."

"Really? How come?"

Sollux's voice made Eridan's chest feel a little compressed, but he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, "well, I was thinkin' about the fact that I went on a fuckin' leisurely stroll through the wilderness, an my asshole boyfriend wouldn't come with me," he said, raising an eyebrow and pouting just a little.

There was silence for a brief moment before Sollux replied, "can I blame it on my viciouth hay fever, and the fact I didn't want to thwell up, and shit?"

"Sol, you don't have hayfever."

"Shit. I honethtly thought I could have uthed that ath an excuthe for any future walkth you might have planned."

Eridan snorted, "you're a little shit, you're lucky I don't drag you out shoppin', now _that's_ a fuckin' exhaustin walk if ever there was one." He continued picking at the sandwich, desperately wanting to bring up the dream, but also not wanting to ruin the mood.

Sollux could only groan in response, "I'll be good, ED, jutht pleathe don't take me shopping." He was quiet for a second, "tho anyway, I've got thome newth, I think you're going to like thi-"

"Sol, who was you hangin' out with today?" Eridan couldn't stop himself, he fumbled with his words as he tried to justify his question, "look, I know you must have friends an shit, fuck, I'm not crazy, but I had this dream an it scared the shit out a me, okay? You was just awful in it, an it made me really worried, but I trust you completely, I'm bein' silly, I guess."

When no answer came, Eridan had to check that Sollux hadn't hung up. He continued his frantic explaining; feeling more and more like a paranoid dick, "I'm not jealous, or possessive or anythin' like that, I'm just... It's all that damn dream's fault! You abandoned me in it, an there were so many books, an a beach, but that's not the point, the point is that you left me alone an I was pleadin' with you to come back, an it was fuckin' horrible! An now I'm sat in my kitchen, feelin' like shit, an I can't even eat my fuckin' sandwich."

There was a heartbeat of silence, then the annoying nasally laughter sounded from the earpiece. It was a little quiet, so Eridan guessed that Sollux was holding the phone away from his head. He pouted and felt his cheeks burn, "are you laughin' at my misfortune, you absolute crapbag?"

The snorting continued for a few seconds before Sollux spoke again, "you had a dream about me, and bookth, and now you can't eat your thandwich?" To his credit, he _tried_ to sound concerned.

"Well, when you put it like that, yes, it sounds fuckin' stupid, doesn't it? But I assure you, it was traumatic as hell, Sol." Eridan frowned, and felt incredibly embarrassed.

Sollux cleared his throat, and took a deep breath to calm himself down, but he sounded as if he was grinning, "ED, come on, eat your food, you dramatic bitch." He held back another bout of laughter, "I didn't tell you becauthe I didn't think it mattered. I wath hanging out with a girl from my clath, her name'th Roxthy, and she'th a hacker too. Anyway, I've been out of the loop rethently, tho she told me about a contetht thome internet thecurity webthite ith hothting, offering like, ten grand to anyone who can hack them and find a flaw in their codeth. That'th all. That'th what I rang to tell you, you fucking plonker."

Eridan's mouth dropped open. He'd been an idiot, and had acted like the one thing he didn't want to be, "oh my God, Sol, I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I blame the dream... An Vris, because she came over an pissed me off, but that's not important, I'm sorry for actin' like a prat, I'll make it up to you." He slapped his own forehead and felt like the biggest douche in the universe, "fuck, I'm an idiot, sorry. But anyway, tell me about this website thing, it sounds fuckin' incredible, an I bet you'll be able to do it in no fuckin' time."

"Well, I'm obviouthly hoping to be the one who crackth it, fuck knowth what I'd thpend the money on. Probably thome new gaming shit, and thome computer crap." Sollux began chatting all about codes and how incredible he was, and Eridan listened dutifully.

Though he would never admit it, Sollux also felt guilty. It wasn't like he had lied or anything, he just hadn't told the whole truth, is all. He _had_ gone out with Roxy to talk about the hacking contest, but that had been in the afternoon, after he had said goodbye to Aradia.

He and Aradia had gone for a walk around town, and had ended up getting icecream together. It had felt pretty nostalgic, and Sollux caught himself laughing happily more than a few times. Once Aradia had realised that she was late for her day's plans, and given him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek, Sollux had agreed to meet Roxy to hear her 'big news'.

It was a good thing that Sollux hadn't met Eridan, because the first thing Roxy did when they met was lick her thumb and rub a lipstick smear off Sollux's cheek.

When the phonecall was finished, Eridan apologised once again, but felt incredibly relieved. His appetite had even returned, and after they both hung up, he wolfed down the sandwich.

Sollux, on the other hand, was left in a little bit of a foul mood. He didn't like that he was feeling guilty for hanging out with Aradia, seeing as they were just _friends_ , and nothing bad was going on. Who cares if she made him laugh, and that it had started to feel just like old times? Besides, he didn't actually care about the fact that she pressed her whole body against him completely when they hugged, and it wasn't as if he didn't want to let go, or anything. He had barely even noticed that she still smelled slightly earthy and a little like roses, and that this made a floodgate of happy memories open.

With a extremely pissed off sigh, Sollux turned his Xbox on, and took his frustrations out on any splicers that dared to cross his path.


	34. Aquarium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so some of you may have noticed that there's suddenly one more chapter... I made a massive mistake, and didn't transfer over Chapter 26: Coffee D: I'm so sorry!   
> So thank you to blackSparrow for pointing that out or I never would have noticed!   
> ((I've added the chapter now, and yeah, hopefully it answers some major questions, holy shit, I can't believe I forgot to upload a chapter! This is what happens when you transfer a fanfic over from another website... Shit goes wrong, but it's my fault!)) so seriously, thanks again! c:

Eridan pulled up to Simon's house, he looked across to the passenger seat and smiled at the small picnic hamper he had packed for the day; Sollux had written a list of food that Mituna enjoyed, and Eridan had made sure to get every single thing on the list, just so that Mituna would definitely have something he'd want to eat.

Before Eridan had even gotten out of the car, Mituna had already thrown open the front door and was running down the garden path towards him, waving excitedly. This would have been fine, but he didn't have his trousers on. Eridan watched as Mituna was grabbed around the waist and dragged back into the house by a very disgruntled looking Sollux.

When Eridan walked up to the house, he could hear the twins arguing, their footsteps thudding as they chased eachother.

"Tuna! Get your troutherth on!"

"No! Sharkth don't wear troutherth, and I'm a shark!"

"OW FU-udge! Don't bite me!"

Eridan thought that this was a clever save on Sollux's part; he had almost sworn but somehow managed to pull it back at the last second. He knocked loudly and couldn't help but smile as he heard silence descend on the household.

It was Mituna that sounded first, "he'th here! Quick, quick, hurry up Tholluxth! What'th taking you tho long?"

Simon opened the door and shook his head, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that, Eridan. Mituna's a little too excited about going out with the two of you today, so he's being a little troublesome." He hesitated for a moment, looking quite guilty, "are you sure that you want to take him? I can always take him myself another time if it's too much of a bother."

Eridan shook his head, "no, seriously, if I didn't think that me an Sol could take him I wouldn't a offered. He'll be fine, I have all his favourite food, your contact number, emergency numbers, a first aid kit, Sol's packed a DS incase Tuna gets bored..." He counted everything on his fingers, ticking things off his mental checklist as he spoke.

Mituna thundered down the steps, his unruly mop of dark hair was covered by a yellow beanie hat.

Simon grabbed him by the collar and pulled a stern, fatherly face, "Mituna, you listen to everything that Eridan and Sollux say to you, follow the rules, don't be silly, eat your dinner, be on your best behaviour, and when they say it's time to go, it's time to go. If I hear you've been naughty, then you won't go out with them again." He smiled a little and gave him a one arm hug that Mituna tried to wriggle away from, "and have fun."

"I know Dad, Jeeth, lemme go! We're late and the sharkth are waiting." He looked quite serious when he added, "I'm going to feed Tholluxth to them." He then cackled and sprinted down the path to the car.

Sollux looked pissed off when he approached Eridan and Simon, "that little... Peanut... Bit me like five timeth, I thwear, if thith shark crap keepth up, I'm going to thlap him."

Simon smiled knowingly, "he's just gotten himself all worked up is all, he'll calm down, you know what he's like." He pulled Sollux into the same one armed hug that he had given Mituna, "you know, the same rules I gave to him apply to you too."

"Thankth Dad. Way to make me thound like I'm five." Sollux grabbed Eridan's hand and dragged him away from his father, grumbling until they got to Mituna.

Eridan unlocked the car, and held the back door open for Mituna and Sollux to get in. Sollux made sure to sit himself behind the driver's seat. He reached across to Mituna's seatbelt, and earned himself a swift slap on the wrist.

"Tuna, let me put your theatbelt on, you flapjack." Sollux muttered as he grabbed at Mituna, trying to hold his wriggling twin still while simultaneously trying to clip the seatbelt together. "ED won't take you if you keep acting up, now calm down!"

Mituna finally froze, then shuffled a little before sitting nicely. "Can we go now?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent and well-behaved as possible.

Eridan looked back at them in the mirror and turned the key in the ignition, "heck yes. Ramblers, let's get ramblin'." He grinned and pulled away from the house, resisting the urge to join the Captor boys as they waved at Simon.

The journey was more or less painfree. Sollux had to calm Mituna down at one point when he got so excited that he began kicking the seat in front of him, but asides from that, the car was filled with cheerful chatter all about what would be waiting for them at the Aquarium. Sollux sighed happily and was quite content with just listening, and besides, Eridan was doing a pretty good job of entertaining Mituna himself, so he didn't feel the need to have to jump in and say anything.

They arrived at the Aquarium a little earlier than Eridan had expected, he had made sure to plan for extra time just in case Mituna had an episode on the way, but they hadn't needed it. "Right, who's ready to see some fish?" He said as they pulled into the carpark.

Mituna whooped, and Eridan was very thankful that he put the childlocks on, because Mituna tried to throw the door open before they had even stopped the car. Eridan snickered as he got out to open Sollux's door, Mituna clambered over his brother to get out first, even though Eridan had already started walking around to his side to let him out.

Sollux made Mituna hold his hand as they walked through the carpark, and Eridan thought that it was quite possibly the cutest thing he had ever seen. From the lack of cars, it seemed as though it would be pretty quiet for once, and Eridan felt pretty thankful for that.

When they got to the entrance, Sollux warned Mituna sternly about his behaviour and what the rules were, threatening to take him straight home if he acted up. While the twins were distracted, Eridan quickly bought the tickets, "oi, you two, come get your hands stamped."

Sollux shot Eridan an annoyed look, trying to portray the words he was not allowed to say in front of Mituna. He had been planning on buying the tickets, seeing as Mituna had invited himself along.

"Let'th go, come on Tholluxth, come on! Hurry up!" Mituna pulled at Sollux's hands, stopping his whining for only for a second as they got their hands stamped, "wow, look it'th a shark! Now come _on_! You're being tho _thlow_! Move it!"

Eridan laughed and pocketed his change, then held his hand out for Mituna, "come on, let's go, Mister Slow Coach here can catch up when he stops bein' a grumpy gills."

Mituna looked at Eridan's hand, but didn't take it. He poked his tongue out at Sollux and pulled harder, "come on! I want to go look at the-" Sollux kicked himself for dawdling when he saw what Mituna was staring at.

"Oh sh-ugar."

"Giftshop! Tholluxth they have a giftshop! Come on, thcrew the fish I want to go there!" Mituna's eyes had a determined gleam to them that Sollux knew all-too-well.

Sollux was about to tell Mituna off when Eridan walked over to the door to the gift shop, and held it open for them, his own grin matching Mituna's. "ED, no, oh Jethuth Chritht."

Mituna let go of Sollux's hands and ran towards the door, and it was only Eridan's quick reflexes that saved him from being shoved against the frame. "Oh wow, Tholluxth, look! Sharkth!" He disappeared into the shop, and was quickly followed by Eridan.

Sollux stormed after them, and watched as they both made a bee-line straight for a shelf of soft toys. A little girl frowned as her father handed her a rather large, greyish-blue shark, "no daddy! Look at that one's face, it looks stupid and I don't want it. I want a _normal_ looking toy."

The father replaced the odd-looking shark back on the shelf, and pulled out an orange mantaray. The little girl squealed happily as he handed it to her, before they walked off to pay.

Mituna disrupted the display to pull the shark back off the shelf, he stared intently at it, not paying a blind bit of notice to the mess he had made. While Mituna was quiet, Eridan reorganised the toys by colour and species as he picked them up for him.

Sollux frowned, "No, Tuna, put it back, that ithn't yourth."

Mituna looked down at the shark; it's eyes were wonky and it's face was crooked, "but nobody elthe wantth him, becauthe he'th not normal." He stroked the nose gently.

Sollux sighed, Mituna really knew how to pull at his heart strings, "Tuna..."

"But I want him, Tholluxth, I don't care that he doethn't look normal. And look, he'th a shark, and he doethn't have a home, and nobody wantth sharkth becauthe they're thcary, and everyone thinkth he'th thtupid, becauthe he ithn't like the other sharkth, tho he won't ever have anyone to look after him." Mituna hugged the plush toy to his chest and peeked out from under his hair to look at Sollux sadly, "but I'd look after him. I love him."

"Jethuth." Sollux shook his head, these things were always so overpriced and he couldn't justify spending that much on something that Mituna wouldn't even play with in a few days time, "no, Tuna, not today. Maybe nextht time, okay? He hath to thleep here tonight."

Mituna's face crumpled, he glanced down longingly at his new shark friend one last time before slamming him into a basket of whales, then he turned and ran for the door.

Sollux rolled his eyes and followed, offering Eridan and the cashier an apologetic shrug as he jogged past. "Tuna, Tuna wait. Mituna I thaid _wait_."

"Thcrew you Tholluxth, you never let me have anything." Mituna paused, wiping a sleeve under his nose before adding, "you're a fucking bucket-ath shit wank bathtard!"

"Don't make me tell Dad on you. He won't be happy to hear that you've been thwearing again." Sollux frowned and stroked the hair away from Mituna's eyes gently, "I'm thorry, he wath jutht a little too exthpenthive, let'th get you an ithe-cream or thomething inthtead."

"No, I don't want a thtupid ithe-cream, Shaun doethn't have an ithe-cream, tho why should I?" Mituna's voice cracked as he spoke; he sniffed as the tears started flowing.

"Who the hell is Shaun?" Sollux asked, wiping the wet streaks away from under Mituna's eyes.

Mituna batted his hand away and rubbed his sleeve over his face grumpily, "the _shark_ , Tholluxth. Hith name ith Shaun, and he doethn't have fucking ithe-cream or a home."

Sollux opened his mouth trying to think of words to comfort his twin with, when he was suddenly shoved aside.

"Shaun!"

He turned around to see Eridan stood with Shaun the shark, and an equally large, white Seahorse in his arms, "ED, what the hell?"

Eridan smiled a little guiltily at Sollux as the shark was wrenched from his grasp by an ecstatic-looking Mituna, "thank you, Eridan! Look Tholluxth it'th really him, look how happy he ith to thee me!" He turned the shark to Sollux, and with it's crooked features, it actually did look pretty happy.

"ED, why did you do that?" Sollux folded his arms, and tried to look as unimpressed as possible, "and what ith _that_?" He raised an eyebrow at the seahorse plush that Eridan was arranging in his bag, trying to make it look as if it was watching everything around it.

"Sorry Sol, I couldn't help myself, I mean, it _is_ Mituna's special day." Eridan watched Mituna throwing the shark in the air whilst cackling happily, "and this was the only _white_ seahorse they had, an it was callin' my name like nobodies business, I needed to have him. Look how cute he is. He looks just like my little Barbossa, well without the freckles."

Sollux tapped his foot, "ED, you didn't need to thpend that much on him, it'th bad enough that you wouldn't let me pay for the ticketth"

Eridan tried to give his best attempt at puppy-eyes, "I'm sorry. I got you somethin' though." He held up a little starfish phone charm and a pack of fudge up, "forgive me?"

"Shut up, you peanut." Sollux muttered, and grabbed his gifts, trying his best to look disappointed and grumpy.

Finally the three of them began their trip around the aquarium, a large set of black double doors led them into a corridor made of glass. A variety of fish swam above and around them, and Mituna squealed with delight as he pressed his face against the glass, trying to get a closer look. The first thing that Eridan did was snap a photo of Sollux and Mituna together as they pointed at an eel; Mituna didn't seem to notice, but Sollux gave Eridan a brief view of his middle finger.

Eridan chatted away happily about all the fish that he recognised, and Mituna listened about half the time, not really taking anything in, but trying very hard to look as if he understood. Sollux watched them, walking a couple of steps behind. He popped a piece of the fudge in his mouth, and watched a silver shoal sweep past him. After he ate a few more, Mituna noticed and forced him to relinquish two pieces, but instead of eating them both, he pressed one roughly into Eridan's hand without saying a word.

Sollux and Eridan made eye contact; both looking very bewildered. Mituna spent a few seconds pushing Shaun's mouth open and closed over the second piece of fudge, before deciding that Shaun wasn't really that hungry, and eating the now fluff-covered piece himself.

The three of the walked through the glass tunnel, and Eridan was pleased that they took their time, instead of just rushing through; the fact that the aquarium lacked the usual crowd of monstrous little children made it all the more enjoyable, and Eridan was very thankful that they had come during school hours. It was relaxing for him to watch the marine-life, but it was more amusing to see that Mituna was showing Shaun all the different fish that he would eat if he was a wild shark.

Once they reached another set of dark doors, Sollux grabbed Mituna's hand, "Tuna, don't run off, okay?" He nodded at Eridan, and they pushed the doors open to reveal the rest of the aquarium; there were above-ground glass tanks, and all kinds of aquatic enclosures. Sollux had to hold on tight, as Mituna tried to run up to the tanks the second he saw them.

"Tholluxth! No! Let go, I want to thee the sharkth!" Mituna yanked at his arm, and grumbled loudly, but Sollux wasn't about to let go. They walked at a calm pace and started looking at an enclosure of seals, and Mituna had a brief laughing fit about how the alpha male in the tank was ' _fat as shit_ '.

Eridan had to look away and bite a finger to prevent himself from laughing as Sollux told Mituna off. He was about to calm down when someone grabbed hold of him, and dug their fingers into his kidneys, "WWHAT THE FU-NK?" He screamed, but was too scared to feel impressed with his self-censoring. He whipped around and came face-to-face with a pink cheeked Feferi, "Fef! You scared the hell out a me!" He yelled, feeling rather embarrassed at his own reaction.

Feferi simply beamed, and adjusted her uniform cap, "hey, I was working on the tank over there, and thought I'd come by and say 'hey', I didn't mean to scare the carp out of you though." She looked at Mituna curiously, "so who's this, then? Hi, I'm Feferi." She waved at him, and pulled a very friendly face.

After Mituna refused to say anything, Sollux rolled his eyes and spoke, "thith ith Mituna, my brother, I don't think you guyth ever got to meet when we were in highthchool, did you?" He nudged Mituna, "come on, Tuna, you're not shy, thay hello to her."

"Your name is Tuna? Well, that's just the most perfect name I've ever heard!" Feferi put her hands on her hips and gasped dramatically, "so Tuna, I'm shore you'd dolphinately like to come and sea the tank I do the most work in. It's a touch tank, which means that you can play with all the little fishies, and kelp them feel happy!" She looked positively ecstatic as Mituna nodded.

"Tholluxth, she thaid I could play with her touch tank," he leant closer, and unintentionally whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "I'm pretty sure that meanth her ath or thomething, becauthe she'th talking like an idiot and doethn't know her proper wordth. I don't know if I want to play with her ath though..."

The reaction of the group was instantaneous; Sollux tried not to laugh, while simultaneously looking horrified, Eridan covered his face with his hands, and Feferi looked completely shocked. Sollux sounded as if he was in pain when he spoke, "no, Tuna, that'th not what she meant at all. It'th a touch tank, you touch the _fish_ in the tank. No one wantth you to touch their ath."

Mituna scoffed and rolled his eyes, "whatever, Tholluxth, I think I know a butt-touching invitation when I hear one." He looked genuinely surprised when Feferi pointed at a nearby tank, "oh shit, that'th a real tank. Come on,Tholluxth, hurry up and come touch thome fish with me!" Mituna tugged on Sollux's arm, and everyone followed him. Sollux could only mouth an apology to a suddenly tired looking Feferi, and Eridan merely scratched the back of his neck awkwardly; Mituna had seemed so innocent, but it seemed that there was a slightly perverted streak to him.

Before anyone was allowed to touch anything, Feferi gave the safety talk, and insisted on treating them all like they were five years old, though she giggled as she did so. There were two tanks; they were both made of glass, and circular. one held rays while the other held small sharks.

"Ocray guys, here's the deal. If you want to touch them, you keep your hands out of the water until the animal swims by, then you can stroke it gently with two fingers," Feferi did a demonstration with a grey ray, "no grabbing, no poking, no pinching, just a nice stroke." She beamed at the three of them, and seemed pretty excited to have people she knew at her tank, especially seeing as she could show off her animals.

It didn't take long before Eridan was stroking the rays, and telling Sollux that sharks and rays were actually both in the subclass of _Elasmobranchii_ , and then went off on a tangent about similar diets and such. Feferi had to leave them for a moment to give the safety-procedure talk to another couple.

Sollux noticed that Mituna wasn't at his side. He felt the dead weight of panic rush through him, and he whipped around; in that split second a thousand situations flooded through his mind, and he could only think that Mituna could be anywhere, not to mention with anyone. He sighed loudly when he saw his brother standing nervously next to the shark tank, peering into the water.

"Tuna, you alright?" Sollux asked, stepping closer.

This seemed to pull Mituna out of his thoughts, and he gestured for Sollux to come closer. Once Sollux was at his side, Mituna whispered to him, "Tholluxth, can you athk Eridan thomething?"

Sollux glanced over at Eridan, who was now watching them curiously, "sure I can, what'th up?"

"Can you athk him if he can touch a shark firtht?" Mituna looked at Sollux from under his long, fluffy fringe with wide eyes, "if they _do_ bite, they'll bite him firtht, right?"

The logic was hard to argue against, and Sollux couldn't help but agree that it was a fair point, so he turned to Eridan, "hey ED, Tuna'th a little nervouth about touching the sharkth, tho can you come and show him how to do it?" Even though the proper thing to do was probably to do it himself, Sollux wasn't about to stick his hand into a tank of fucking sharks. Besides, Mituna had asked for _Eridan_ to do it, and Sollux wasn't going to ignore his brother's wishes.

Eridan looked pretty pleased to be the one to come over and teach them, and he quickly showed them the stroking technique; careful to remind them of the safety procedure, just in case they had forgotten. After the Captors had watched him do this a few times, Eridan turned to them and smiled, "right, it's time for you two to have a go, okay?"

The puppy-dog eyes that Mituna gave Sollux were ridiculous, and the nerd knew there was no way to say no to that face. It was with a sigh, and a hesitant hand, that Sollux dipped his fingers into the tank. After his fingers glanced over the back of a small shark, Sollux looked at Mituna, "thee, nothing to it. Come on, show Shaun how brave you are."

Mituna watched with wide eyes. He glanced at the sharks, and double checked that Sollux and Eridan both possessed all of their fingers before he very tentatively reached into the tank. When a shark swam under his outstretched fingers, his face lit up brightly, and he laughed loudly, "I can't believe you two were too thcared to touch them!" Mituna held Shaun up so that he could watch how brave he was being.

"Yeah, how _could_ we have been tho wrong, Tuna." Sollux rolled his eyes and looked around, spotting a snack stand, "do you guyth want an ithe-cream or thomething?"

Eridan wiped his hand on his trousers and looked over Sollux's shoulder, "yeah, definitely, but I'll get them, Sol, today's supposed to be about me treating you two."

Sollux shot a glare at Eridan, "I thwear to God, if you thpend another penny, I'll kick you. I'll let you uthe your imagination about where I'll be kicking you." He smiled a little, "now what do you want?" Sollux hoped that Eridan knew that the threat was serious, as the hipster had already spent way too much, and Sollux was starting to feel a very guilty.

"Cornetto!" Mituna called out, not even bothering to turn.

Eridan hesitated, "I'll have a Cornetto or a Magnum, whatever looks best," he reached out and prodded Sollux in the chest, "and just so you know, if you kicked me, I'd kick back." There was no doubt in Eridan's mind that they would be having some kind of play-fight by the end of the day, and someone would end up with bruised shins.

As a group of teenagers made their way over to the touch-tanks, Sollux left to get their treats. He hadn't been gone for more than a minute when the trouble started.

There were four boys, and two girls, and they didn't look much younger than Eridan. They were looking into the tank, and one of the boys noticed Mituna, who was still cackling away as he stroked the sharks, completely oblivious of the people that were now watching him.

Eridan stood by Mituna defensively, and tried to eavesdrop on what they were saying. If he needed to, he could probably talk Mituna into helping Sollux carry the ice-creams back, and get him away from the group.

Mituna turned to Eridan, "I'm not allowed to put Shaun in there to play with the other sharkth, am I? I don't think I want to anyway, I don't think he can actually thwim, and he'll jutht get wet and groth." He looked down at Shaun.

"I think you might be right, Tuna, plus Fef'll probably get annoyed that he's in there." Eridan replied, his smile was cut short when he heard something.

One of the girls were watching them, and she laughed, "oh my God, do you think that's his carer or his boyfriend?" The group snorted and laughed amongst themselves.

A boy perked up, "they shouldn't let people like that out into public places like this. I mean look at him, he'll probably start dribbling into the water in a minute." This caused another bout of suppressed laughter.

This made Eridan furious, he clenched his fists at his side, and tried to pretend that he didn't hear it for Mituna's sake. He didn't want to bring attention to it, just in case the Captor boy hadn't heard it himself, but Eridan felt his heart break a little when Mituna stood up straight and looked at him.

"Are they talking about me?" He asked quietly. Before Eridan could answer, he turned around and looked at the group, "are you athholeth talking shit about me?"

Laughter rippled through the small group of teenagers, and Eridan's ears burned as he heard a boy imitating Mituna's lisp. One of the boys stepped forwards, "nah, we're not talking about you, mate."

Eridan took a step closer to Mituna, and glared openly, "back off, _mate_."

The little shit looked back at his crew, obviously wanting to prove that he was somehow the bravest; he quickly grabbed Mituna's wrist, wrenched Shaun out of his gentle grip, and threw the soft toy into the tank.

There was a heartbeat of silence as Mituna struggled between wanting to jump into the tank after Shaun, and rip the head off the bastard who threw him in there, "SHAUN!" He cried out and reached fruitlessly into the tank.

At this point, the group were in hysterics, and Feferi had noticed, she quickly ran off to fetch a net. Eridan didn't really notice, though. He was seeing red, and he very calmly stepped past Mituna, then grabbed Shaun's assailant by the front of his shirt, "how dare you." He murmured, then swung a fist at the guy's head.

The teenager dropped to the floor, holding a hand to his cheek, "what the fuck!?" He screamed, and his group were suddenly silent.

Eridan shook his hand, and flexed his fingers. His knuckles hurt like hell, but he didn't allow his glare to diminish in any way.

As the guy jumped up and stepped back into the safety of his group, Mituna whooped loudly, "thuck it shit-featureth!" He cackled and bobbed excitedly, "look at hith fucking fathe! What a twat!" He was positively screaming with pure joy, and this only made the boy who had been on the floor flush a bright red.

This could definitely end very badly, so Eridan leant closer to the group and lowered his voice to a threatening tone, "now if you think that I went a little overboard, you're sorely mistaken, alright? One, that was me bein' pretty nice, because you guys actually caught me on a day that's been pretty enjoyable thus far. An two, he has a twin brother who won't hold back like I did," Eridan narrowed his eyes, "if he hears that you guys made fun a his brother, well, they'll be scrapin' you lot off the pavement with a shovel. _If_ they find your bodies, that is."

The little group stood together, and each person glowered at Eridan with a fresh hatred, but Eridan merely smiled sweetly back at them, "seriously kiddies, get the fuck out a here before somethin' bad happens." And with that, the group began stomping away with a chorus of 'dickhead' being mumbled under their breaths.

Feferi returned with the net, and fished soggy, but otherwise uninjured, Shaun out of the tank, "what the shell happened there, Eridan?" She asked suspiciously, knowing full well that her step-brother wasn't some kind of angel, and may have done something to somehow start the altercation.

Before Eridan could even get a word out, Mituna answered for him, "he punched the guy that threw Shaun, and it wath fucking awethome!"

"Tuna, don't thwear," Sollux said sharply as he returned with the ice-creams, "what the hell happened to Shaun? Did you drop him or thomething?" He tilted his head as he looked at the three of them.

Once Mituna and Eridan had filled Sollux in on the details, Eridan had to physically restrain Sollux from running off to find the group.

The rest of the trip around the Aquarium was drama-free, and Shaun had been temporarily turned into a napkin-mummy to help him dry off. When Mituna began complaining about feeling hungry, they sat down at one of the outside benched-tables to eat the picnic Eridan had packed.

"Tuna, eat your thandwicheth before you even _think_ about touching the thnackth." Sollux warned, he had noticed Mituna sneakily reaching for a chocolate bar.

After grumbling, Mituna picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He was silent for a minute while he chewed, but quickly thought of something to talk about, "hey Tholluxth, Tula bred me a shiny Beldum." He puffed out his chest proudly.

Sollux whistled and shook his head, "you have to theriouthly EV train it, and get the right movethet, that thing'th a beatht when it evolveth, well done!" He slapped Mituna's hand as it crept across the table in an attempt to grab a bag of crisps.

Eridan looked between them, and waited for some kind of explanation as to what the hell a Beldum was, and why it's shininess was so important.

Mituna finished another sandwich triangle, then turned to Eridan, "do you have any shinieth? What'th your favourite Pokemon? What about typeth? I bet you lke the oneth that look nice inthtead of getting thtrong oneth."

"Pokemon? Isn't that a card game?" Eridan asked. He vaguely remembered that Tavros had played a card game about monsters, and the name Pokemon sounded familiar.

"You don't play Pokemon?" Mituna's mouth dropped open, and he looked a little bit like someone had slapped him, "Tholluxth, he doethn't play Pokemon."

Sollux snorted and picked up an apple, "yeah, I know. He'th letting uth down, ithn't he?"

Eridan huffed a little, "well, I don't think I _want_ to spend all a my time playin' a game if the main aim is tryin' to get a sparkly monster." He sniffed and turned away, feeling a little embarrassed.

This just made Mituna groan, "you're an idiot, it'th about more than that. You've got the main thtoryline, which ith pretty boring, but you have to become the throngetht trainer and fight thome baddieth," he shrugged and threw the crust of his sandwich on the ground for a pidgeon that was pecking around nearby, "but the betht thing ith the competitive thtuff, you can specialithe your teamth moveth and abilitieth to win matcheth online."

This caught Eridan's attention, "so, it's about teams, fighting and tactics?"

Mituna rolled his eyes, "obviouthly. You have to come up with thtrategieth and teamth that go together, and they help eachother and it'th loadth of fun. Maybe I'll teach you thometime." He promised.

Sollux listened happily as Mituna explained all about the different types, and Eridan looked as if he was trying to memorise it all. It was nice seeing his brother getting along with Eridan so well, afterall, whenever Aradia had come round, Mituna would mostly stay in his room, and the both of them never really had a conversation. Yet Eridan was sat there asking questions, and honestly looking very interested in what Mituna had to say.

After a little while, Eridan grinned, "I have decided that I'm goin' to get myself this game, an defeat everyone who dares to stand against me an my team. My team is goin' to be beautiful, an strong, an strike fear into the hearts a my challengers, an I've decided that I'll have a shiny too." He began poking Sollux in the shoulder, "you're goin' to come to town with me an help me pick out the right game an console, okay? It has to be perfect, an I don't know about this kind a thing."

"Yeth, alright, I'll help, jutht thtop poking me!" Sollux jabbed Eridan back, aiming specifically for his ticklish kidneys.

While they were both distracted, Mituna quickly grabbed as many things as he could and hid them on his lap. This would have been a stealthy maneuver, if he hadn't shouted, "fuck yeah!"

-.-.-.-.-

When they were back in the car, Sollux buckled Mituna in, and sat down in the back with him again. There was no need for music, as the three of them spent the entire car journey talking tactics and type advantages, and Eridan continued to take mental notes in preparation for playing.

As they pulled up outside the Captor household, Eridan reached across into the glove compartment, and pulled a small circular box out. He turned and handed it to Mituna, "I nearly forgot I brought these along for you."

Mituna took the box and snorted, "oh my God, they're tho weird looking."

Sollux leant close, and saw that the see-through box contained seven dice; they were red and blue marbled, with shimmering gold numerals. He watched as Mituna opened the box carefully, to get a better look.

"Well, if you're goin' to try playin' Dungeons and Dragons, I thought I'd get you your own set a dice," Eridan shrugged, "and even if you don't play, they're still a cool thing to own."

Once the lid was secured, Mituna reached forward and ruffled Eridan's hair, "I'm going to phone up Tula and get her to come round to have a look at them, thankth Eridan."

Eridan nodded, a slight look of embarrassed pride on his face, "I'm just glad you like them, Tuna." He got out of the car, and opened the child-locked door for Sollux and Mituna. By the time they walked up to the house, Simon was waiting by the door, beaming.

"Dad! Look what I got!" Mituna shrieked, holding up the small box of dice, and the significantly scruffier-looking Shaun, "I'm going to call Tula now, and tell her all about it."

"Someone must have been on their best behaviour today." Simon mused as he grabbed Mituna's shoulders gently, and turned him back round to Sollux and Eridan, "isn't there something you want to say to these two before you run off?"

Mituna looked annoyed that he had been stopped in his tracks, but he still managed to crack a smile, "thankth for taking me to the Aquarium, and thankth for Shaun and the dithe." He quickly wriggled out of his father's grip, and sped into the living room.

Simon watched him go, "it's like that kid has a rocket up his arse, he moves so quick." He shook his head, smiling, "seriously, thanks for taking him out, I trust that he actually _was_ on his best behaviour?"

Eridan nodded, "yeah, we didn't even need to get out the emergency DS, he was excellent." He shuffled his feet, feeling a little embarrassed, and silently thanked Sollux, as the Gemini took over for him.

After Sollux and Simon finished speaking, Mituna pushed past them to wait at the garden gate for Latula.

The drive back to Eridan's was relaxing, and as soon as Eridan parked the car, Sollux pulled him into a kiss. He ran his hands through his boyfriend's hair, and savoured the way their lips fit together so perfectly. When they pulled apart, Eridan's cheeks were dusted pink, and Sollux grinned crookedly, "thankth for today, and for thtanding up for Tuna." He pressed a soft kiss to Eridan's forehead, "I think I like your violent thtreak when it'th not uthed againtht me." He snorted.

Eridan pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, "I'm not _violent_ , I'm just willin' to kick the asses of the people who give shit to my boyfriend, and his adorable twin brother."

Sollux grabbed Eridan's hand and dragged him into the house, barely giving him enough time to check the locks, before pulling him upstairs to the bedroom.


	35. Codes and Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally back on track! Haha, after the whole mess up with the missed chapters, I was pretty pissed at myself, but oh well, they're in now, and everything's good!
> 
> Possible trigger warning: there's another descriptive piece about the carcrash again

Sollux tapped away furiously at the code in front of him. He had been trying to crack it for days now; he had been ignoring his homework, and even the majority of Eridan's phonecalls, in favour of the job in front of him.

Roxy had been telling the truth about the internet-security website. The company was offering £10,000 to anyone who could hack into their website; the only real catch was that the hacker in question had to show where the fault in their program was, and if need be, help fix it.

This was unfortunately easier said than done. Sollux had nearly exhausted himself twice already, and was nearing his limit once again. After hearing his phone vibrate for the eighth time in an hour, Sollux finally got up from his trusty beanbag; rationalising that he probably needed a break anyway, and that Eridan would most likely think that being ignored like this was the highest injustice in the world.

He couldn't help but smile as he read the string of texts that Eridan had sent.

**'hey sol good luck you can do it i believve in you okay'**

**'come on sol kick that fuckin sites ass'**

**'if anyone can do it you can'**

**'here i thought this little emoticon wwould motivvate you i knoww i hate them usually but trust me you need this BI see it kind a looks like me doesnt it'**

**'shit i just thought i probably should havve made it smile to showw my support a you B) there wwe go'**

**'wwell noww it just doesnt like me anymore does it i dont smile like that im wway better lookin**   
**let me try again B] oh god this ones evven wworse look at that smarmy little shit'**

Sollux laughed out loud at the fact that Eridan was actually getting a little worked up about the little smiley, and whether or not it looked enough like him. He looked up from his phone as he heard a knock, and his bedroom door was opened by Karkat, "thup, KK?" He asked, eyeing up the rather large pizza box, and the two-litre bottle of Coke the smaller guy was carrying.

"Nothing much. I was just sat watching a film when a fucking pizza was delivered for a Mister Captor. Already paid for, so that's pretty cool." Karkat walked over and sat behind Sollux on the bed, "smells like a orgy of meat."

"Shit, you know meat orgieth are my favourite." Sollux's eyes wandered down to his phone again, to finish reading Eridan's messages.

**'hey i knoww wwhat you can get like so i just wwanted to check that youre eatin i mean youvve been doin that all day an honey loops aint as nutricious as you like to pretend'**

**'right its been an hour an noww im thinkin that youvve passed out from hunger so im doin my boyfriendly duties an gettin you a pizza i assure you itll be a mess a meat an cheese because thats the disgustin filth that you like'**

The fact that Eridan was acting like a worried mother was nothing but humorous for Sollux, but he thought back to all the times that he had actually worked himself to exhaustion, and the fact that eating took a backseat when he was coding made the gesture all the more meaningful. "Holy fuck, it'th from ED." Sollux wrote a long thank you text to Eridan, promising to phone him the moment he cracked the website.

After the text was sent, Sollux sat himself down on the bed with Karkat, and flipped the lid of the pizza box open. Both of them melted as they stared at the almost angelic-looking pizza, "Jethuth, look at that." Sollux muttered as he lifted a slice to his lips.

Karkat helped himself to a piece and moaned dramatically as he took a bite, "fuck me six ways to Sunday, that is fucking incredible." He pointed the slice at Sollux, and frowned a little, "I think I might love your boyfriend. Seriously, I'm going to take him out, woo him, and have him send _me_ pizzas."

"I'd share him, but I'm thruggling to share thith with you to be honetht." Sollux finished his first slice and sighed loudly, "fuck me, I didn't realithe I hadn't eaten yet today, I'm thtarved." He quickly grabbed another slice and dug in, relishing in the greasy goodness. Sollux admired the pizza, and noted that it looked as though Eridan had ordered extra cheese and bacon.

There was a special place in Heaven waiting for that hipster.

When Sollux and Karkat were finished, there were still two slices left, but Sollux closed the lid and put them to one side for when he got peckish later. He had to slap Karkat's hands away from them first though, "dude, thop picking the fucking toppingth off!"

Karkat had finished two slices in the time it took Solux to eat six, and had plucked a chunk of chicken and a piece of pepperoni off another slice before he was slapped, "damn it Sollux, you hit hard!" He rubbed his knuckles as Sollux began drinking from the large bottle of Cola, "so how's the coding coming along?"

It took Sollux a moment to speak; he was gasping and blinking away the fizz-induced tears, but eventually he turned to Karkat and shrugged, "not good, thith thecurity thythtem ith more difficult than anything I've ever come acroth before. But I'll jutht have to find a way around it, won't I?" He took another sip of his drink, and frowned, "I'm not going to let thith shit beat me, I'll lothe all credibility. Bethideth, if I crack it, I'll drum up a whole load of publithity for mythelf." Sollux knew that the publicity would provide a good amount of business for his freelancing career, which could land him in some stable, and very serious money.

"Oh yes, twinArmageddons the hacker will be a household name soon." Karkat reached across and ruffled Sollux's hair roughly as he got up, "thanks for the pizza, asshole. And good luck, seriously, if there's anyone who can dick around enough with the system to break it, it's you." He offered him a smile, and left the room so that Sollux could get back to his work.

Sollux flopped back against his pillows, resting his hands on his stomach. The code danced through his mind, and he closed his eyes, focusing on trying to pull it apart and find the flaw. There _had_ to be one, all he needed was one tiny opening, and he could rip the whole website to shreds, just one little opening.

He didn't wake up for hours, but as soon as he was able to focus, Sollux returned to his laptop, and began tapping away, resuming the tortuous task once again.

-.-.-.-.-

Eridan watched the streetlights whizzing past. He hadn't heard much from Sollux since he sent him a pizza on the Tuesday, but had been shocked to receive a phonecall from Karkat asking if he wanted to go to a fancy restaurant with him. Eridan had been more than happy to oblige, seeing as it was nice to go on these kinds of outings with friends, but he had been disappointed to find out that Sollux wouldn't take the night off from his coding to come too.

It was now Thursday, and Eridan doubted that Sollux had actually planned anything for their date day; he was a little pissed off, but he understood that this was important to Sollux, so he wouldn't argue about it.

He sighed and fiddled with his suit-jacket's sleeves, "Kar, you wouldn't happen to know if Sol has anythin' planned for tomorrow, would you?" He didn't want to ask, but it would be better if he knew now, rather than getting any kind of hopes up.

Karkat kept his eyes on the road, but his eyebrows furrowed a little,"I'll be honest, Eridan, I don't think he even knows what day it is today. So as far as I know, he doesn't have anything planned. I wish I could tell you something else, but he's in his own fucking world at the moment," he sighed as the traffic let up a little, and he made his way through the city, "he usually comes to me to ask for ideas, but he hasn't left his room for anything other than pissing."

This dampened Eridan's mood, but he tried to keep his voice as upbeat as possible when he spoke, "I thought so, but I guess he's busy, so he'll probably do somethin' next week, or the week after." He looked down and after deciding that his tie was slightly crooked, retied it, "does he even know that you invited me to sleep over tonight?"

"Well, I told him, but I don't know whether he was paying much attention. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll do something. As much as I like to take the piss out of him for being such a socially inept piece of shit, he actually seems to give half a damn about you." Karkat shrugged as best he could, with his hands on the wheel, "but stop worrying about that, let's just have fun, eat some fucking impeccable food, and have a nice night. Maybe I'll even take you out for a movie afterwards." The angry expression softened a little, and when they reached a red light, Karkat offered Eridan a small smile.

"Thanks, Kar. I appreciate it." The sentiment really did mean a lot to Eridan, and he returned the kind expression.

They didn't really talk much for the rest of the drive, Eridan was stuck between feeling annoyed at the news that Sollux definitely hadn't planned anything, and feeling guilty for getting annoyed at this, when Sollux was doing so much work.

The restaurant came into view. It was a steakhouse, and a damn good one at that. Eridan had been meaning to visit it for quite some time, seeing as it always scored well in reviews. Their meat quality was infallible, and they could cook it to absolute perfection, so there was no way that Eridan wouldn't go there at least once.

The building was tall and white, with a large, outdoor balcony area. It looked absolutely beautiful from an architectural point of view, and Eridan hoped that the inside was as nice as the exterior.

He was about to make a comment to Karkat, when a tall, young man wearing a dapper suit caught his eye. As Karkat parked the car, Eridan threw open the door and leapt out, pulling the laughing man into a clumsy kiss, which mostly consisted of lips being pressed against teeth.

"Thurprithed to thee me, ED?" Sollux grinned as Eridan slapped his arm.

"What the fuck are you doin' here?" Eridan yelled, "I have been waitin' by the fuckin' phone to hear somethin' from you, an now you turn up out a the blue an invite yourself along for _food_?"

Sollux only laughed harder as his left side was assaulted by a barrage of frustrated slaps, "Eridan, come on! Can't you go back to being all exthcited, and jutht kith me again?" He snorted and smacked his boyfriend's hands away.

This only made Eridan pout childishly, and he turned to look at Karkat, who was watching them from the driver's seat, "Kar, can you believe this asshole?"

"Yes, Eridan, I can, considering it was his idea for me to bring you here," Karkat looked victorious, "and I think I did an amazing job of tricking your dumb ass, wouldn't you agree?"

Eridan looked between them, and his cheeks turned a little red, "You two set this whole thing up?" He asked suspiciously.

Karkat shook his head, "all I did was ask you out and drive you here, the idea and the set up was all Sollux."

The disbelieving stare that Eridan gave both Karkat and Sollux was laughable; his eyes were wide, and his mouth flapped open open and closed soundlessly. He watched Sollux grin, clearly enjoying the hipster's reaction, and finally found the words to speak, "Sol, _you_ did this?" He asked hesitantly.

Sollux shrugged, and held Eridan's violet gaze, wishing that he wasn't wearing those damned contact lenses, "ith that tho unbelievable? I wanted to thurprithe you." He felt annoyed that he wasn't wearing his sunglasses, but he rationalised that he probably wouldn't have been allowed in the restaurant if he had been wearing them.

Before anyone else could speak, Karkat yawned loudly, "as much as I'd just _love_ to stay and listen to this awkwardly romantic bullshit, I want to get home and watch a film or two. Eridan, I'll drop your bag off in Sollux's room, sorry I'm not staying to give you some kind of grown-up company." After leaning over and slamming Eridan's door shut, he waved at them both, and drove away, leaving Eridan and Sollux on the pavement.

"Tho... Shall we get ourthelveth a thteak?" Sollux offered his arm to Eridan, who smirked and quirked an eyebrow.

"Such a gentleman." He mused as Sollux lead him into the gorgeous building.

-.-.-

Sollux sipped the wine that Eridan had recommended, and came to conclusion that it was a fine choice indeed. He jumped at the sound of his name.

"Sol?" Eridan furrowed his thick eyebrows and snapped his fingers, "so are you ever goin' to actually tell me why I'm sat here with you instead a Kar? Not that I'm complainin' or anythin', but still."

They were waiting for their meals to arrive, and Sollux had been relatively quiet up until that point. Eridan hadn't minded at first, as he kind of thought that it was just an effect that the atmosphere of the restaurant had on Sollux, but the nerd had been sipping his wine for the past five minutes in complete silence.

Finally Sollux set down his glass, and looked Eridan in the eyes; he smiled as the corners of his boyfriend's lips twitched upwards when the heterochromia eyes were turned to him, "shit, yeah, thorry." Sollux took a deep breath, and reached across the table to offer Eridan his hand, "I got thome newth, and I thought you'd like to hear it in perthon, inthtead of jutht in a textht, or thomething."

Eridan laced his fingers with Sollux's, "news? What kind a news?" He froze and his eyes widened, "oh my God, you did it, didn't you?" Excitement flickered through his expression, and he gripped Sollux's hand tightly.

Sollux nodded, "I cracked the fucking webthite Wednethday morning." He couldn't help but blush as Eridan made a high-pitched noise and clapped his hands over his own mouth, "I fucking did it, ED! I found the tinietht error, and brought the whole webthite down!" It had been incredibly difficult to keep this news a secret, as he had wanted to call Eridan the second that the fact that he had been successful had sunk in. Sollux had been contacted by the company almost immediately, and he was sent the money the moment he helped them fix the fault in their coding.

"Oh Sollux, you incredible, brilliant, gorgeous, brainy, fuckin' nerd! I'm so proud a you!" Eridan didn't even attempt to keep his voice down, and the people at the nearby tables glanced over with mostly amused expressions, "oh my God, well done! I knew you'd do it! I kept tellin' Fef that if anyone could do it, it would be you!"

The unfamiliar feeling of pride made Sollux's chest swell. He grinned crookedly as Eridan pulled out his phone and sent a barrage of texts to everyone and anyone, bragging about how Sollux was just the most fantastic person ever.

The speed that Eridan typed nearly impressed Sollux, but the hipster kept muttering curses under his breath as his hands were shaking so much, "right, I've told Fef, Father, Cro, Kan, Vris, Rezi, Tav, Kar... I mean, I imagine you've already told him, but still, I think I deserve to tell him too!" Eridan beamed at Sollux with a look of pure admiration and devotion, "seriously, Sol, I'm just so fuckin' proud right now."

This made Sollux feel conflicted; on one hand, he wanted Eridan to sing his praises, but he also felt a little self-conscious, and wanted the ground to swallow him up. It annoyed him that he was so used to living in a constant state of self-deprecating that having someone being so nice was almost uncomfortable.

The fact that Sollux hadn't spoken in a little while flew straight over Eridan's head, he just continued to chatter on happily, but he paused for a moment, with an eyebrow arched, "you know, I think you owe me some a the credit for this major breakthrough."

Sollux's expression matched Eridan's, "oh yeah? how?"

Eridan scoffed, and rolled his eyes, "well, I think if I hadn't ordered you a pizza you would a passed out before makin' your amazin' breakthrough." He couldn't even attempt to look serious as Sollux slapped his shoulder, "I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'! I know that this is all because a that brilliant brain a yours." Eridan smiled warmly, and kissed the palm of the hand that had just been smacking him playfully.

Just as Eridan had started pressing small kisses against the tips of Sollux's fingers, they were interrupted by the arrival of their food.

Sollux was a little disappointed when Eridan abandoned his gentle affections in favour of eating the slab of meat in front of him, but he couldn't feel sad as he saw how perfectly his steak was cooked, "holy shit, ED, look at this." He glanced across at Eridan, and saw the look of pure bliss on his face.

They ate mostly in silence, only really communicating with the occasional "mm? Mmm." After a while, Sollux finally took a very brief break from chewing, "I forgot to thay, I got you a little prethent," when Eridan looked at him hopefully, Sollux shook his head, "it'th not with me now, it'th in my room, but I'm sure you'll like it."

"What is it?" Eridan watched him with a child-like expression of curiosity.

"You can wait until we get back." Sollux smirked behind his wine glass, thoroughly enjoying the way that Eridan's expression crumbled into a pout.

"Sol, you can't dangle the proverbial carrot a knowin' what's waitin' for me at yours, an then cruelly wrench it away, come on, don't be a dick," Eridan almost whined, "just tell me what it is."

Sollux shook his head, "nope. You have to wait."

Eridan stabbed a piece of steak with his fork, and narrowed his eyes, "it had better be fuckin' worth me gettin' so worked up, Sollux Captor."

-.-.-.-.-

Despite the fact that Eridan had tried to sneak off to pay for their food, using the excuse of leaving to use the bathroom, Sollux beat him to it.

They had to get a taxi home, and the entire ride home consisted of Eridan scolding Sollux for spending so much money on a meal, which Sollux laughed off. He tried to make Eridan smile by walking his fingers up his thigh, but Eridan just slapped his hand, then folded his arms grumpily, "Sol, I wanted to treat you as a well-done for beatin' the website's security shit."

It was Sollux's turn to roll his eyes, and he squeezed Eridan's knee, "fucking hell, ED, I wanted to treat you becauthe I finally _can_. Don't take that away from me." He watched as his boyfriend finally gave up, and grabbed his hand.

"Fine. You win, I ain't grumpy anymore." He said begrudgingly, "but I'm still goin' to take you out for some kind a congratulatory thing, okay?"

Once they reached Sollux's apartment, Eridan was nearly bouncing with excitement at the door, and he groaned at Sollux to hurry up so he could get to the gift waiting for him. The second the door was open Eridan kicked his shoes off and sprinted through the kitchen and living room, shouting a hurried greeting to Karkat before disappearing up the stairs.

Sollux locked the door behind him, and before even noticing that he was doing it, he wiggled the door handle three times. "Shit, I've got to thtop watching ED do that, I'm catching hith crathy." He strolled through to the living room, "hey, KK."

"Your boyfriend just ran through as if his bollocks were in a fucking mouse trap," Karkat mused, pausing his film so that he wouldn't miss anything, even though he had undoubtedly watched it so many times that he knew it off by heart, "how was the meal?"

"Fucking perfect, my friend." Sollux stretched as he wandered to the stairs and began climbing them, "now I have to give the little princess his present." He heard Karkat laugh, but he didn't slow down or respond, he was too busy worrying about how Eridan would react to his gift.

When he opened his bedroom door, he found Eridan waiting on his double-bed, clutching a scruffily wrapped box to his chest. Sollux grimaced as he looked at the shoddy job he had done with the shiny purple wrapping paper, but he was impressed with the fact that Eridan had waited for him to come upstairs, "shit, ED, you didn't need to wait for me, jutht open it."

Eridan didn't need to be told twice; he very carefully peeled the tape off, and pulled the paper open. There was a heartbeat of silence as he looked at, and lifted up the three individual boxes that had been wrapped as one.

Sollux felt his mouth go dry, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as he watched Eridan sitting there in silence. It only lasted a second, but it felt like an eternity. Finally, with a little difficulty, Eridan crawled over the bed to Sollux and grabbed his wrists, "you asshole." He muttered, before pulling Sollux down into a rough kiss.

It took Sollux a brief moment to respond, but he took the kiss as a good sign, and he tried to join Eridan on the bed, before he felt a hand against his forehead, "ED?" He frowned.

Eridan pointed at his feet, "no shoes on the bed, Sol." He smiled as the Gemini perched on the edge of the bed, and he wrapped his arms around him, his voice almost a purr against Sollux's ear, "do I need to charge it before I can play with it?"

Sollux flung his shoes at the wall and pushed Eridan over, quickly lying down next to him, "we'll plug it in while you uthe it." He pecked Eridan's nose happily, "tho I take that ath a thign that you like it, then?"

"Course I fuckin' do! But I can't believe you spent so much on me, I know they ain't fuckin' cheap," Eridan frowned as Sollux peppered his face with kisses, "you should a spent the money on yourself." He reached up a hand and flicked one of Sollux's ears gently.

This only made Sollux roll his eyes, "Eridan, I bought you it becauthe you showed tho much interetht in owning one latht week, and you athked if I'd uthe my exthpertithe to help you choothe one, tho thith ith jutht me taking the initiative."

Eridan sat up and picked up the largest box, and turned it over in his hands, "it's a gorgeous shade a red."

"I know, right? I'm jutht thorry there ithn't a purple one, but we can get you a cathe or thomething." Sollux shuffled over to Eridan, and hugged him from behind, softly kissing the back of his neck, "I'm jutht happy you didn't go out and buy one for yourthelf before I got you one." He reached out and picked up a smaller box, "and I got you the thame ath Mituna, becauthe he thaid he wanted you and him to match." He put the box down and pressed his forehead against the back of Eridan's head.

The sudden affection was greatly appreciated by Eridan, and he squealed ever so slightly, "Sol I fuckin' love it!" He whirled around and hugged Sollux properly, quickly making him fall back against the bed, "I'll need to fuckin' step up my game an get you somethin' as amazin' as this!"

Sollux snorted and shoved Eridan a little, "don't get uthed to thethe kindth of giftth, I'm not usually thith generouth, or rich. Thith ith jutht a thpecial occasion." Their lips touched briefly, and Sollux sighed happily, running his fingers through the soft hair at Eridan's temples, "thith ith the thtart of your corruption, ED. You'll be buying accethorieth for it and everything... Tho, do you want to have a little play with it then?" He smirked slyly.

Eridan rolled off him and grabbed the box, and Sollux felt a pang of affection deep in his chest as he watched Eridan picking at the box's seals with a childish excitement. "Fuck yeah!" He exclaimed as he opened the box, and he very gently lifted the treasure inside up, "oh wow."

As an afterthought, Sollux leant over to his bedside drawer and rifled through it, wishing that he'd gotten himself prepared sooner, but he held out a hand towards Eridan, "path it here, I got thomething to clip it into to protect it."

Once Eridan had hesitantly handed his gift over, Sollux sat up, "there we go, now it hath at leatht thome protection if you drop it." He passed it back, and Eridan looked a little conflicted.

"It doesn't look as nice in this, but if it'll mean that it won't get scuffed an fucked up, then I'll sacrifice the aesthetics." He spoke as if this was somehow a noble gesture on his part, and he flopped back against the pillows, "let's have some fun Sol, but you'll need to show me what the hell I'm doin'."

-.-.-

Eridan gasped loudly, "Sol! Oh my God, Sol!"

"I know, ED, it'th happened to me a hundred timeth, and thith ith like, your third anyway." Sollux raised an eyebrow as his head was shoved downwards to watch.

"No Sol, you don't understand, it's evolvin'!" Eridan watched ecstatically, and his eyes didn't leave the screen, "oh my God! My little Hermione is growin' up!"

Sollux smiled as he watched Eridan's Fennekin evolve, and mentally congratulated himself on an excellent purchase. The red 3DSXL had gone down a treat, and so had the Pokemon X game, especially when he had explained to Eridan that the fire starter became a mage.

They were sat together on the bed, and had been playing Pokemon together since they had gotten in. Eridan had insisted on making Sollux text a picture of the DS in it's black protective case, and game to Mituna, along with a message promising that once Eridan had a perfect team, they would battle.

Mituna had been absolutely thrilled to see that Eridan had the same game as him, and had sent a picture of his own blue 3DSXL back.

"Sol, your DS is surprisin'ly cute." Eridan mused, looking over at Sollux's bright yellow DS, which was emblazoned with a large pikachu.

"Shut your mouth, it'th a limited edition, and it ithn't _cute_ , it'th _cool_." Sollux elbowed his boyfriend, then leant his head against him. It was already 2AM, but thankfully they had the whole day on Friday to enjoy a nice lie-in together, so the time they fell asleep didn't really matter.

There was another crash outside, and Sollux grumbled quietly as a group of youths on the street began jeering and causing a scene.

Eridan turned and looked towards the window, frowning, "Fuckin' hell, can you hear those kids out there? Don't they have bedtimes?" He clicked his tongue, and turned back to his game, "if they keep that shit up, I'm goin' to march out there an have stern words with them."

"Theriouthly? Come on, ED, there'th like a whole group of them, and they're all going to be little bathtardth," Sollux shrugged, and slapped Eridan's stylus to one side, "ED, no, that'th a fairy type, uthe your poithon move."

This caused Eridan to huff a little, "I could take them on, I'm tougher than all a them." Though there wasn't much conviction to his words.

Sollux sighed and tried to ignore the noises. It sounded like the same group that had caused a disturbance three times already outside the apartment building, and it was starting to grate on both Eridan and Sollux's nerves.

Finally, it became quiet again, and Sollux breathed a sigh of relief. He switched his game off, and packed the DS away, "I'm going to try and go to thleep before thothe little shitth come back," he snuggled down into the quilt and curled himself around Eridan, feeling extraordinarily affectionate, "don't thtay up too long, I want to make uth breathfatht in the morning."

"Sol, you can't cook."

There was a brief pause, "by 'make uth breakfatht' I meant make uth both a nithe bowl of Honey Loopth. Anyway, it'll be a fucking romantic meal, and I exthpect you to be consciouth for it."

Eridan smiled as Sollux yawned, "alright, I just want to get my team to level twenty five, then I'll go to sleep too. I promise."

Sollux felt himself drifting off, and the warm fog began clouding his thoughts. He could barely even process the last thing he heard before he sank into the deep dream-driven slumber, it just sounded so far away, so insignificant.

"Shit, they're back. They've got five minutes before I go out there, and start kickin' ass."

-.-.-

_There was none of the usual build-up. None of the theatrics involving fights and Aradia, or even the much rarer, but painfully bittersweet memories of his grandparents making pancakes or spaghetti. No, instead Sollux found himself in the car the moment his mind drifted off._

_This wasn't normal, usually his mind saved the sadistic grand finale for last. Sollux felt a little disturbed that there was no build-up, this had never happened before, and he was genuinely afraid about what this meant._

_He turned, and once again found himself smiling at his mother and brother, and his words were still trapped; locked away behind his teeth and lips, his warnings silenced._

_His heart broke as he was once again forced to relive his mother's death, and his brother's accident. His chest tightened as he sobbed, not only as a shadow of the action that he did on that awful day, but also because it hurt so fucking much._

_There was no warmth from the fog-like man that lifted him from the wreckage, and his reassuring words were like poison, seeping into his mind and discolouring his thoughts, because how could any words make him feel better or in any way safe, when he had looked into his dead mother's eyes, and saw his twin brother sagging like a ragdoll in the arms of someone else? How the fuck was he supposed to go on when the metallic smell that made him gag now just as much as it did when he was a child, enveloped him like a sickening blanket, when red and blue were burnt together inside his eyes, inside his brain, inside his dreams, because the sky was so clear and crisp and blue, and the tarmac was red, so red, so fucking red, why was it so red? Why was the world so quiet when he had just heard the squeals of metal-on-metal, the thunderous crashing, the strained creaking of the glass as a crack spread like a spider's web, crisscrossing in that second before it shattered and rained down on the pavement with a light tinkling sound, those little shards would glitter as they peppered the road, sparkling like diamonds against a night sky, until they were lost in a thick sea of red that covered everything, that stole the beauty of the diamond-glass, covering everything in the absolute and cruel red, why the fuck was there so much red, how could there be so much red when the sky was so blue and the birds were singing, and the people began whispering and murmuring, and how dare the sun still shine, how dare the birds still sing, how dare the sky stay blue..._

_Red and blue. Red on blue._

Sollux's eyes snapped open, and he swallowed thickly. He was surprised that he didn't feel his usual panic that he did after having _that_ dream, but he wasn't about to question it, he had just been lucky this time was all. This lack of panic didn't quell the feelings of nausea or crushing sadness, but at least he wasn't screaming.

Something was wrong.

There was no comfortable weight of a sleeping boyfriend next to him. Sollux was alone in the bed.

He sat up and looked around, something felt so wrong. He tried rationalising that the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was because of the dream he had just awoken from, but that wasn't completely right.

Sollux watched the door, maybe Eridan was just in the bathroom? That was it, he would be back any moment.

But the seconds dripped by, and Sollux became more and more nervous, he wouldn't allow his eyes to leave the door.

His patience was rewarded as the door opened, and a slice of light drifted in from the hallway, "finally, ED, I thought you'd never-" He had meant to say that he thought he'd never come back, but his words were caught behind his lips. It wasn't Eridan that opened the door.

It was Karkat.

He was wearing his blue pyjama shirt, and a pair of black jogging bottoms, but there was something red spattering his top half. Sollux was suddenly struck with the awful coppery smell from his dream, and he watched as Karkat brought red-stained hands up.

"I'm sorry, Sollux."

Karkat's voice sounded airy, and Sollux's head felt like it was full of water. Thick, oily water, that sloshed around in his head and made him feel dizzy.

Language was failing him, and Sollux just sat there, propped up against his pillows, with his mouth hanging open, staring straight at the hands in front of him, resembling some kind of offering.

Something was wrong, where was Eridan? Why was Karkat sorry? Why wasn't Eridan here to explain what was going on, he needed to hurry up and get out of the bathroom, he needed to get his ass in here and comfort him, he needed to get out of the bathroom and help because Karkat was dirty and needed to be cleaned and oh God what the hell is that on his hands and why was there so much red staining that blue shirt, and why is he sorry and where the fuck is Eridan how dare he disappear when he's needed most he's supposed to be here and why the fuck is Karkat sorry and-

"Where'th Eridan?" Sollux asked slowly, his voice cracking from the effort.

Karkat held his hands up once again, as if this answered all of Sollux's questions, but this time he also spoke, "he went out to shout at some teenagers, and... I couldn't stop them... I couldn't... I'm sorry..."

Sollux leapt from the bed, and ran to the window, desperate to prove Karkat wrong. He would throw back the curtains and see nothing, it was all bullshit, Karkat was mistaken, because Eridan never lost a fight, he had a mean punch and a meaner headbutt, Eridan always won, Eridan...

It was hard to see through the fog that had rolled in during the night, but the flashing red and blue lights were impossible to miss.

So was the figure of his boyfriend lying on the pavement.

He was too still.

Sollux heard a painful scream, and it took him a moment to realise that he was the one making the noise.

Suddenly there were insistent arms wrapping themselves around him, coiling like snakes, and he tried desperately to move away, he needed to get to Eridan, he tried to watch from the window, but the fog was so thick, and the lights were so bright, red and blue flooded his mind, he needed to get outside but he was so afraid to see those perfect blue eyes devoid of any of their usual lustre, and the arms around him were tightening, and he was still making that dreadful, mournful sound.

The world went dark as Sollux heard his name being screamed.


	36. Wounds and Whispers

Sollux continued screaming as the world came back into focus, he was being held close by someone, and could barely move. He was staring over the person's shoulder at Karkat, who was still stood in the doorway with wide, fearful eyes. Sollux clawed frantically at the person hugging him tightly, and despite the fact he was making noise, he was completely unable to string a sentence together. He needed to get outside, he needed to get to Eridan, he needed to-

His legs gave way beneath him, and he felt his body sag against the person restraining him. It took him a moment to notice the gentle shushing noise being whispered against his hair; Sollux's voice rasped before he gave up, and finally stopped screaming.

Sollux couldn't fight against the arms that held him close, he couldn't even pull himself away from their tight embrace to look at them, and he was dragged back over to the bed. The tears that streaked down his cheeks were hot, and his breathing hitched. He tried to focus on the soft, calming noises being whispered to him, but he felt like fighting the person away; how dare they try and calm him down when Eridan was outside, who the fuck did they think they were?

Acting almost on instinct, Sollux reached under the person's shirt, and raked his nails down their back, desperate to get them to let go, he needed to get outside. He felt the person flinch, and heard them gasp in pain, but they quickly resumed their gentle shushing, and stroked his hair.

It wasn't fair, Sollux's body was too conflicted; he was desperate to get away from this person, and yet he wanted nothing more than to hug them back, and to pretend like everything was okay. Finally his body gave up, and he pressed his face into his restrainer's shoulder, weeping loudly, because there was nothing else he _could_ do.

Karkat stepped closer, his voice was so quiet, "Sollux?"

"What's all the screaming about? I was having a motherfucking mirthful dream and- oh shit, is Solbro having another one of his things?" Gamzee stepped into the room, and stood next to Karkat, watching the spectacle.

Sollux continued to sob, and tried to think of anything to get his mind off the smell of copper, the smell of metal, the smell of...

_Coconut?_

That wasn't right. When did the cloying stench of blood become the gentle scent of coconut? Sollux breathed it in deeply, and gratefully. It eased the knot in his stomach ever so slightly, and he felt conscious thought start to return.

His chest heaved, and his breath caught in his throat, but he forced himself to pull his face away from the shoulder to look at Karkat. He didn't want to see the blood, but he had to ask him to go out and check on Eridan, please, someone go out with him, someone sit with him, don't leave him alone.

Karkat was stood with Gamzee, his eyes were less fearful now, and his expression showed nothing but concern, "Sollux, are you okay now?" He reached out, and Sollux's eyes widened.

The blood was gone.

The hands were clean, and there was no blood on the shirt. Karkat's shirt wasn't even blue, it was white.

Sollux's mind whirled, but he couldn't speak; his voice croaked quietly, but he couldn't do much other than make a pathetic noise. He held a hand out towards Karkat, and saw the fresh blood on the tips of his own fingers, he saw Karkat flinch at the sight of this, but he still clasped Sollux's hand in his own.

Karkat's lips moved, and Sollux had to focus intently to understand him, "was it the dream with your mum again?" He asked gently.

This made Sollux flinch, and he squeezed Karkat's hand tightly, hoping that it hurt him. How dare he ask about something as stupid as that when Eridan was outside? Sollux's voice grated as he spoke, and he was reminded of shoes scraping across gravel, "fuck off, Karkat! Do me a favour, and fucking help Eridan!" he felt a lump in his throat grow, and he bit his lip, "pleathe, fuck off and help him. Pleathe? Pleathe!" His voice creaked and nearly gave way.

"What?" Karkat pulled a face.

The person who had been clutching Sollux so tightly, eased up his grip, and pulled away a little, but before they could speak, Sollux continued his rant; struggling to get the words out before he lost his voice.

"Pleathe, pleathe, he'th outthide, he'th hurt, he'th not dead, he can't be dead, he needth me, he needth thomeone, help him, help him! Pleathe! Thave him, I'll do anything, jutht thave him!" Sollux begged shamelessly.

"Sol, I'm right here." Eridan answered quietly, pulling away enough that Sollux could see that he was the one holding him.

Everything seemed to explode into a mess of emotions, and for a moment, Sollux couldn't even respond. His mind was in complete chaos, and he frowned; he stared intently at Eridan's face, studying every single feature, trying to find a flaw that would show that he was somehow a fake, or even something that his mind had created, because his Eridan was outside, bleeding on the pavement, obscured by the fog, illuminated by the red and blue lights, he was gone, he was-

"Eridan?" Sollux barely allowed himself to believe that he was real.

"I'm here, Sol."

Sollux crumpled, and he leant forwards quickly; his hands scrabbled for purchase in Eridan's shirt, he pressed his face against the crook of his neck, and breathed in the familiar smell of coconut. He reached up and ran a hand through Eridan's hair, relishing in the feel of him, and pulling him close, because Eridan was _alive_ , and warm, and normal, and he wasn't dead, and everything would be okay, everything would be fine, the world was right. He wept loudly, and felt Eridan stroke his back soothingly, once again starting up the gentle shushing noise. Sollux wrapped himself around Eridan, because there was no way in hell he was ever letting the hipster out of his arms again. Eridan was the calming anchor in the thrashing storm of Sollux's mind.

With a little difficulty, Eridan moved them both back to the pillows, "Sol, I ain't goin' anywhere, come on, I'm just tryin' to get comfortable." He dragged Sollux along, and pulled the quilt over them both, "there, see?"

Gamzee watched them, then nodded lazily, "looks like those motherfuckers are going to be just fine, sounds like our good friend Sollux just up and had himself another case of the night terrors and shit, I think I'm going to head off back to my room, to try and catch some more of those motherfucking Z's." He stumbled over and patted Sollux's head with a large hand, "you'll be cool, bro, we all get ourselves down and worried about these kinds of things, but it'll be alright. Go back to sleep, brother, and shit'll be miraculous again, you'll see." He smiled, then turned and retreated to his own room.

Karkat closed the bedroom door, and settled himself down on the bed next to Sollux. He sighed, and watched his best friend with a sad expression, "so Sollux, I'm afraid I don't have any more stories about Gamzee and his stoned escapades, so you'll just have to put up with me talking about other bullshit until you either fall asleep, or you tell me to fuck off, okay?"

There was a second's hesitation before Sollux nodded silently against Eridan's chest.

"Good." Karkat sighed, and laced his fingers behind his own head in an attempt to get comfortable. He knew he had to come up with something to distract Sollux, this was the way that they had dealt with his bad dreams for years now, and Karkat saw it as something that was required of him. "Work's been pissing me off, you know? I swear, any time I bring a needle over to anyone, they flip their shit. It's like they came in for a blood test thinking that they'd piss the blood out or something, Jesus Christ, I fucking hate people." He looked down at Sollux, and then up at Eridan before continuing his little rant.

Sollux didn't respond to the words. His head was still resting against Eridan's chest, and he was listening to his heart, counting the beats, because it was proof that Eridan was alive, it was proof that he would be okay. The rest of the world seemed so meaningless to him, and even though this one heartbeat was an insignificant pulse, at that moment there was no doubt in Sollux's head that it was actually one of the most important sounds that would ever exist; Eridan's heart was a candle in a storm, and Sollux wanted nothing more than to shield and protect it, because if his heart's flame was extinguished, it would mean losing him again.

The words were getting further and further away, and Sollux felt his body almost melt against Eridan; he was just so warm, and the way his chest was rising and falling so slowly was just so relaxing. He tried valiantly to stay conscious, but every fibre in his being was fighting him, tempting him with warm whispers to just allow himself to slip away, because everything was fine, and Eridan was fine, and he was fine, all fine, all-

Exhaustion finally took it's toll on Sollux, and he drifted off. Although it didn't seem long to him, Karkat had actually been speaking for nearly an hour, and even though Eridan was acting as the diligent boyfriend, he was also starting to doze off.

It was only when Sollux began making a quiet whistling sound as he breathed that anyone realised that he had fallen asleep.

Karkat trailed off, and looked down at Sollux, lowering his voice, "is he asleep?"

Eridan nodded, listening intently to the slow, deep breathing, "I think so. Thanks for helpin' him calm down, I honestly... Fuck, I didn't know what to do, Kar."

"Don't worry about it, I've had to deal with it enough to know how to get him off to sleep." Karkat rubbed his eyes, and looked thoroughly exhausted, "so what happened? Why the hell was he stood up?"

This made Eridan frown, "what do you mean? Hasn't he done that before?" He glanced down at Sollux nervously, "he was fussin' in his sleep, an it woke me up, so I asked him what he was doin', but he was just mumblin' to himself. Then he stood up an walked over to the window, an he kind a yanked the curtain a bit, then he started screamin' like a fuckin' banshee." He stroked Sollux's cheek with his thumb, wanting nothing more than to soothe him, and prevent any other horrific dreams.

"Fuck, in all the years I've known him, and lived with him, he's never gone sleepwalking before." Karkat shook his head and stifled a yawn, "the fucker's bad enough when he's just lying there screaming, like some kind of pissed off, beached whale." Karkat edged himself off the bed slowly, trying to sneak away without waking Sollux up. Once he was off, Karkat strolled back to the bedroom door and hesitated, watching the pair, and wondering whether he was making a mistake in leaving. After deciding to leave them to it, he added, "look after him, Eridan. Seriously, he might be up all night having those fucking dreams, and he'll need you to stay calm and to have his back. Try not to fuck up."

Eridan knew that in his own way, Karkat was asking him to look out for his best friend, and he smiled, "don't worry, I'll stay with him for as long as he needs, I'm not goin' anywhere, he'll be fine." He looked down at his sleeping boyfriend, and stroked his fringe away from his forehead, feeling the devotion blooming in his chest.

Karkat nodded, "I appreciate it, bro." He tapped his fingers against the door, hesitating again, "night, Eridan."

"Goodnight, Kar." Eridan watched the shorter man leave, feeling a hell of a lot better knowing that Sollux had such a relentlessly caring friend just down the hall.

Sollux made a soft snuffling sound as Eridan shifted, and he whispered something incoherent.

There was a voice that whispered inside the dark recesses of Sollux's mind, reminding him that this could just as easily be a dream; the warm body lying next to him and holding him so sweetly, could be a figment of his imagination, and the faint scent of coconut could just be a remnant of Eridan, a ghost left behind on a pillow or something. Sollux pushed these thoughts away, and pulled Eridan closer, pressing their bodies together, relishing in the way they fit together so perfectly.

"I don't want to wake up." He mumbled against Eridan's collarbone.

-.-.-

It took a moment for the mugginess to clear from Sollux's mind, and he frowned against the pillows, groaning softly. It was a little difficult for him to wake up properly, but he managed to sit up successfully before noticing that he was alone.

He felt his mouth go dry as he stared at the empty half of the bed. This couldn't be happening, the voices were right, Eridan being okay _had_ been a dream, and Sollux had slept right through the fucking night. He whimpered as he stood up on shaky legs, and they nearly gave way when he started walking. As he reached for the door handle and saw the blood crusted on the tips of fingers and under his nails, "no, pleathe no." He whispered, ready to run all the way to the hospital if he needed to.

The bedroom door opened and Eridan walked in carrying a tray, "mornin' Sol, how are you feelin'?" He asked kindly, stepping over to place the tray on top of the bedside table, "I got you some hot blackcurrant squash for your throat, an a bowl a milk for you to have some Honey Loops, but if you want somethin' else, I an go back downstairs an-" His words were cut short as Sollux wrapped his arms around him, and squeezed him tightly.

"Fuck, ED, I thought you'd... I..." Sollux sighed quietly and ran a hand up Eridan's back, but he pulled away as Eridan flinched and gasped through gritted teeth, "what'th wrong?"

Eridan grimaced a little, "well you wasn't exactly gentle last night when you was flippin' out, an you scratched me pretty badly." He shrugged and turned back to the tray, "don't worry about it though, let's just have our breakfast, okay?" He froze as he felt his shirt being lifted up.

Sollux frowned as he gently pulled the shirt out of the way, and he felt his stomach drop as he saw the scratches on Eridan's back. "Shit..." There were five hideous, bloody gashes arching downwards from Eridan's left shoulder to his right hip; the surrounding skin was pink and incredibly sore looking. He pushed at the shirt a little more, until Eridan got the silent hint and pulled it off completely.

Without hesitating, he dragged Eridan out of the bedroom, and into the bathroom, making him straddle the edge of the bath. He grabbed a washcloth, and ran it under hot water, quickly taking the opportunity to wash the blood off his own hands. Once the washcloth was wet, he wrung it out, and moved to sit behind Eridan.

Eridan hissed quietly as the cloth was pressed against his back, but he didn't protest. He knew that Sollux was trying to show that he was sorry , and it felt good to finally get clean, but it stung like a bitch.

Once the dried blood had been meticulously cleaned away, Sollux pressed apologetic kisses against Eridan's back, next to the scratches."I'm thorry." He whispered.

"I know you are," Eridan turned his head, and smiled softly, "I don't blame you though."

Sollux nodded numbly, his eyes remaining on the wounds that he had caused, "I wath tho thcared." He admitted, hating the way that his voice rasped weakly.

Eridan stood up and placed a hand on Sollux's cheek, "I can only imagine. I mean, you was screamin' in your sleep an I shouldn't a grabbed you like I did, so it was my own bloody fault. Come on, they're only scratches, I'll be fine." He tilted his boyfriend's face upwards, and leant down to brush their lips together gently.

The dark guilt in Sollux's stomach felt as though it was growing, and he stared into his boyfriend's eyes, wracking his brain for the words to convey how sorry he was, while at the same time trying not to shout at Eridan for blaming himself. He swallowed, in an attempt to soothe his sore throat before speaking again, but it didn't help, "ED, it wath my fault. I thought you wath outthide, and I couldn't get to you, and I thought I'd fucking lotht you, I felt tho fucking helpleth, I'm tho thorry," Sollux pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes angrily, hating how much of an effect the memory was having on him, "it fucking killed me, ED, having to go through lothing you like that."

"Sol." Eridan murmured, stroking Sollux's hands in a comforting way, "your throat's givin' out, come on, you need to stop talkin' before you do yourself some damage."

"ED, I need to thay thith, okay? Thith ith the only time I've had the ballth to," Sollux lowered his hands, and hesitantly made eye contact again, trying to draw confidence from the fear that if he didn't say it now, he might not get another chance to. The only problem was that it was something he hadn't said to anyone in so long, and truth be told, he couldn't stop thinking about what the last person he said it to, did to him. But there was no doubt in his mind about how he felt for Eridan, because the tightness in his chest and the way his heart quickened at the sight of him pointed towards only one thing... The way he wanted to stay in and cuddle and play pokemon just as much as he wanted to push him down and kiss him, mark him, make him cry out his name, could only mean that... the way he felt on top of the world in his presence meant, it meant...

"Eridan, I wath tho thcared, I never want to lothe you, becauthe... Shit. Becauthe, I'm pretty sure that even though my head'th a meth and I probably thound like I'm talking shit, but I thwear I'm not, okay? Fuck." Sollux's eyes darted away for a second, and his mind screamed at him to stop being a pussy, but also that maybe this was a bad idea, what if Eridan didn't say it back? What if he didn't feel the same way? What if he laughed? What if- Fuck it, just say it already!

"I thought I'd never get the chanthe to thay thith, I thought you'd never hear it, and I thought I'd never get to thee your reaction, tho I'm fed up with waiting, I'm fed up of putting it off, becauthe... Eridan, I'm pretty fucking sure that I lo-"

The bathroom door was flung open, and Sollux made a sharp wheezing sound, then fell backwards into the bathtub. Karkat frowned from the doorway, "Oh shit, sorry guys, I didn't realise you were in here, I need a piss, so get out." He whistled slowly at the sight of Eridan's back, "holy mother of fuck, that looks bad! I think we might have something in the cupboards to help that, I'll have a look later." He stepped over to the toilet, and glared at them expectantly, "...Are you two going to get out, or is this going to get weird? Because either way, I'm voiding my bladder."

Sollux clambered out of the bathtub, glaring. "You bathtard." He croaked, grabbing Eridan's hand, and dragging him out of the bathroom.

"Wwait, Sol, wwhat wwas you sayin' before Kar interrupted?" Eridan asked, following closely behind Sollux.

The moment was gone, and Sollux shook his head, "nothing, ED."

Eridan pouted a little, and cursed Karkat for bursting in. It was so close to being a perfect moment, and now it was all for nothing. He knew what Sollux had been so close to saying, and he had actually gotten butterflies, but now he was more than a little pissed off.

Once they were in the bedroom again, Sollux kicked the door closed, and went to his shirt drawers, pulling out his beloved Gengar shirt and throwing it at Eridan, "you can wear one of my shirtth theeing ath yourth hath blood on it." He muttered, then flopped onto the bed.

There was a very brief pause as Eridan thought about telling Sollux that he had actually brought a clean change of clothes with him, but he decided against it seeing as it was a nice gesture on Sollux's part, besides, the shirt was a gorgeous shade of purple. Eridan carefully pulled the shirt on, then sat down beside Sollux, "how do I look?" He asked, knowing that the answer could only be _'perfect'_.

Sollux leant over, and pulled an open box of Honey Loops out from it's hiding place, "you look alright, I thuppothe. Now path me my bowl, I'm fucking thtarved."

"You're a bastard, Sol, I look perfect an you know it." Eridan handed Sollux the bowl of milk, and a spoon, "an make sure you drink your hot blackcurrant squash while it's still warm okay? I made sure to stir in a spoonful a honey too, so your throat'll be good as new in no time." He leant close and rested his head against Sollux's shoulder. He didn't know how to put it into words, but he wanted to reassure Sollux, and make him feel better about the dream. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to sound right or good enough in his head.

Once Sollux was about half-way through his bowl of cereal, he glanced down at Eridan, "aren't you going to have thome?" He was a little concerned that Eridan hadn't eaten since their meal the night before, and he didn't want him getting ill.

Eridan shook his head, "nah, I had some toast when I was waitin' for the kettle to boil, don't worry about me, you just focus on feelin' better." After trailing his fingers over Sollux's wrist, he added, "let's just have a completely lazy day today, an just stay in bed playin' Pokemon. I'll even order us a takeaway tonight, an we can get Kar to bring it up to us, how does that sound?"

"Like a thlice of fried gold, ED." Sollux pressed his lips against Eridan's violet tuft, then resumed eating his ever-so nutritious breakfast.

Although the memory of the night before was still playing on both their minds, neither really wanted to spoil the mood by bringing it up, but Eridan swore to himself that he'd ask about it before they went to sleep, as he wanted to know just what the hell happened to him to scare Sollux so badly. Once the bowl was put to one side, Sollux leant back against the pillows and grabbed his DS, "right, let'th get to it, we have a whole day to fuck around, and I want to thee how your team growth."

Eridan picked up his DS too, and cuddled up to Sollux, thinking that the contact would probably make the Gemini feel better, "I bet I'm doin' better than you did when you first played yours."

"ED, I've been playing thethe gameth for fucking yearth, I'm a Pokemon mathter."

"Oh yeah? Well colour me fuckin' impressed." Eridan elbowed Sollux gently, "well, we'll have to see about who's the fuckin' master once I get my killer team functionin', you just wait." He smiled as his little character appeared on the screen, and set himself to grinding, eager to show Sollux how strong he could get.

Neither of them paid much attention to the television, even though Sollux had made sure to put on something they both liked, so it ended up just being background noise. At one point in the day, Karkat stuck his head round the door, but he was only checking up on them before he left for work.

Eventually it became impossible to ignore Eridan's stomach, as it was growling with the ferocity of a wild dog.

"Shit, ED, do you want to get thome lunch?" Sollux laughed, glancing down at the head leant against his shoulder, he picked up his phone, "I think I could go for a thandwich or thomething too, to be honetht."

Eridan didn't even look embarrassed, he just stretched lazily, "fuck yeah, lunch sounds like a magnificent idea, Sol, what are you in the mood for?" He jumped as the phone was suddenly thrust in front of his nose. He was about to scold Sollux, when he saw the time, "holy shit! It's FIVE?"

"Yep, thith ith what happenth when you get into gameth, you lothe whole dayth without realithing it." Sollux tapped Eridan's screen to piss him off, "tho what do you want to eat? I've probably got pathta, chipth, chicken nuggetth... Maybe thome cuthtard creamth..." The fact that he didn't make his own food frequently enough to know what was in the cupboards and freezer suddenly dawned on him, and it was a little embarrassing, but then again, he lived with someone who didn't mind cooking, and another whose only talent besides counting bathroom tiles while stoned, was baking.

"To be honest, I'd love to cook a nice curry, or a spaghetti bolognese, or somethin', but I really can't be bothered." Eridan hesitated for a minute, looking a little sheepish, "I know we've been eatin' out a lot recently, but I wouldn't mind seein' what takeaway menus you got, I think you deserve a treat, an I'm just a greedy bastard, besides that's what we agreed to do earlier."

Sollux rolled off the bed, and made sure he was out of Eridan's kicking-range before saying, "ED, let'th be completely honetht here, you've never actually _eaten out_ in your entire life." Once he received a pillow to the face, he turned and ran out of the room, unable to run far enough not to hear Eridan screaming about how 'disgusting and low-brow' he was.

The take-out menus were stuck to the fridge in a little bundle, and Sollux began rifling through them as he walked up the stairs, half-shouting up to Eridan, "what kind of food are you in the mood for? We'd have to drive out to get the chinethe, but pretty much everything elthe ith within the range to deliver thtraight to uth." He closed the door behind himself, and felt his words catch in his throat as he found himself actually looking at his boyfriend for the first time that day.

Eridan was sat cross-legged on the bed, wearing the gengar shirt, a pair of black boxers and dark red socks; his hair hadn't been styled, he wasn't wearing his coloured contact lenses, his cheeks were a little pink, there was a tiny crease between his eyebrows, and the tip of his tongue was being bitten in concentration.

Sollux thought that he had never seen anyone look so perfect.

The silence that had descended caught Eridan's attention, and he turned to Sollux, "you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm... You look nithe." Sollux fumbled with his words, and cursed himself for sounding like a shy twelve-year old, not that he was usually some sort of eloquent Casanova or anything, but this was just embarrassing.

Eridan tried to disguise the snort by quickly clearing his throat afterwards, but he doubted that Sollux fell for it, "thanks, you look pretty good too, Sol." He patted the mattress next to him, "now why don't you sit down with me an choose what you want to eat, I'm starvin'."

Food had never really been something to cause arguments between them, but every time Sollux tried to put his foot down about them both getting a doner kebab, Eridan felt like screaming. Trying something like McDonalds was a massive step up from sinking low enough to eat a kebab, which Eridan grimaced at and referred to as the _'arsehole of the food industry'_.

It took another half an hour before the growling sound being produced by Eridan's stomach became unbearable for the hipster, and he finally snapped, "fine! Just get whatever the hell you want, Sol, just fuckin' hurry up, because my stomach is about to digest itself." Despite what he just said, he flicked the kebab-house menu onto the floor, hoping that Sollux would be too lazy to bend down and pick it up.

"Okay, one, I know their number and my usual order off by heart, tho that wath jutht thtupid, and two, I wathn't going to order from there, you idiot." Sollux rolled his eyes, and playfully tried to nudge Eridan off the bed with his foot, "I wath actually kind of hoping that we could get Dominoth, but could you thort it out tho I can have the thame thing you got me on Tuethday?" He tried to look as hopeful as possible, and continued nudging Eridan.

"Oh thank fuck, hell yeah we can do that, pass me your laptop and I'll show you what I got you," Eridan held out his hands expectantly, "I had to customise it specially because I wanted to make it disgustingly meaty for you, because I'm just the greatest boyfriend ever."

Sollux leant over the bed and grabbed his laptop off his beanbag, then shifted to sit next to Eridan, instead of opposite him. He put the laptop on his own lap, and shrugged at Eridan, "no one utheth my laptop exthcept me, tho you'll have to tell me what you chothe, and I'll thort it out, okay?" This wasn't an act of disrespect or anything, it was just that Sollux's electronics were both his passion and his livelihood, and as much as he trusted Eridan, he just wouldn't be comfortable with him using it.

This didn't seem to bother Eridan too much, he leant his head on Sollux's shoulder and watched the laptop boot up. Once the website was up, Eridan quickly began listing off all the things that he had added to the already meat-covered pizza.

When it was Eridan's turn to choose what he wanted, he hesitated, then pointed at the plain margherita, "I want a large one a those, but order extra cheese an some chicken on it too, an let's get some wings an garlic bread, because I think we deserve it."

Sollux smiled as he added everything Eridan had asked for, " exthtra cheethe, _and_ thome chicken? Thomeone'th feeling adventurouth."

As soon as they finished ordering, Eridan insisted on watching the pizza tracker, acting as though this would somehow make their food come quicker.

-.-.-

They were both barely holding onto consciousness, but Eridan was training diligently, and Sollux was hatching eggs, so they didn't want to go to sleep just yet.

Sollux yawned as he watched yet another animation of an egg cracking, and his eyelids sagged heavily; he had been doing this for two days now, and he was considering just abandoning his quest. He was so sleepy he almost missed the way that his newly hatched pokemon was a dark turquoise colour, instead of it's usual light blue.

Almost.

Suddenly, Sollux sat up, and laughed, "finally!" He typed in a nickname, then clicked on Eridan's character face on the screen, requesting a trade.

Eridan accepted, and frowned a little, "finally? Finally, what? What do you want me to send you?" He asked, wondering why Sollux hadn't told him the reason for the sudden trade request.

"Thend me anything, theriouthly, I don't give a crap, but get ready for the betht thing you've ever theen in your life." Sollux looked ecstatic, all of those hours had finally paid off, and it felt incredible. He was grinning like a cheshire cat as he put his newly hatched Pokemon up, and waited to see Eridan's reaction.

It was almost instantaneous; the hipster's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open, "is that... Wait, it's turquoise! Oh my God, Sol, I love it!" Eridan looked at Sollux with wide eyes, before watching the little trading animation.

Sollux noted that Eridan's hands were shaking ever so slightly, and he looked so incredibly innocent and excited, it was completely adorable, "tho I take that ath a thign you like him? When he evolves into his final evolution, he turnth purple, you know."

"Oh my God, you called him Barbossa! My little baby Barbossa is a shiny Horsea! An he turns purple? That's amazin'!" Eridan pressed a number of quick kisses to Sollux's face, bringing a hand up to stop the laughing nerd from pulling away from the loving onslaught, "I absolutely fuckin' love it, Sol! Thank you!" He finally abandoned the kisses in favour of playing with his new team member in Pokemon Amie.

Sollux turned off his DS, feeling as if he deserved a good night's rest. He leant his head on his pile of pillows, and watched Eridan playing with a small smile on his face. The feeling of being content washed over him, and he wrapped an arm around Eridan's middle, drawing comfort from how warm his boyfriend was. He allowed his eyes to flutter closed for a moment, rationalising that they were aching and would feel better after he rested them, but they felt so heavy, and he didn't really want to open them, so he decided to keep them closed for just a minute longer, just until they stopped aching.

Sollux had been snoring quietly for a little while, and had turned away from Eridan in his sleep. Eridan switched his game off, feeling very happy with the fact that his little Barbossa was now level fifteen, then snuggled down behind Sollux, pulling him close, and spooning him. Even though the previous night was still fresh in his memory, and it had been an awful thing to experience, especially considering his back was still stinging, Eridan considered their gaming day to be one of the most enjoyable dates he'd ever had.

Eridan's mind took much longer to wind down than Sollux's had, as he was still on edge that Sollux would wake up and start screaming again, but eventually the drowsiness took over, and he felt his body start to relax.

When Sollux snorted and fussed a little, Eridan kissed the back of his head and began mumbling things to help calm him down, "shh, Sol, I'm here, I got you. I'm not leavvin' you, an I'm not goin' anywwhere." He was too tired to hold back on his stutter, or even feel any kind of pride when his attempt at soothing worked, and his boyfriend settled down.

His lips barely moved as he mumbled through his unconscious state, "g'night Sol, I lovve you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So I hope that anyone who felt sad about the last chapter feels a bit better! And before anyone asks, no, this wasn't a 'cop-out' because of the reviews. I've had every chapter planned out pretty much since I started this thing, so please have faith that this story is going somewhere, and has a strict plan! ;) So hold onto your butts.
> 
> But yeah, the whole red & blue, and fog shit carried on after Sollux "woke up", but I didn't want to be too obvious with it... I hope it was written well enough that at least a couple of people suspected that it was a dream, but I don't think I'm that good to be honest.
> 
> Thank you so much for the reviews, it means so much to me that I was able to invoke those kinds of emotions in you guys with my writing, and I'm sorry for any heartache, worry, and tears you've had to deal with because of it!
> 
> Seriously though, you guys are wonderful, thank you for returning and reading. It honestly means a fuck load to me. [Also, we broke 100,000 words! So thank you so much for reading, you're all absolutely brilliant!]


	37. Paint and Panic

Following the events of the horrific dream, Sollux decided that enough was enough, there was something he had been putting off until now, and it was time to do something he should have done a long time ago. He had spent the weekend texting Aradia when he began thinking about the fact that he had never actually told her that he had a boyfriend, and truth be told, he couldn't tell whether this was because it had just never been brought up, or because he didn't _want_ her to know.

When Aradia asked if he wanted to spend Wednesday with her again, Sollux realised that it would be the perfect time to slip it into conversation. Afterall, it wasn't like he was hanging out with her as anything more than a _friend_ , so why _would_ it matter if she knew about Eridan. In fact, seeing as they _were_ friends, she _should_ know about him. Shouldn't she?

He gave a friendly wave as he approached Aradia, who was sat on a bench outside a book store, "hey, Aradia."

She returned the gesture, and stood up, "I was just getting worried that you had forgotten all about me, Sollux." She quirked an eyebrow and smiled knowingly.

Sollux checked his watch and realised that he was actually half an hour late, but it wasn't as if he had left late or anything, he had just gotten caught up looking at the window display for a new video game. "Oh shit, thorry about that," he itched the back of his neck, and watched her put the book she had been reading back in her bag, "tho, where do you want to go?"

Aradia shrugged, and glanced around at the various shops, "well, I wouldn't mind getting an ice cream again, I really enjoyed it last time," she smiled and pointed at the small ice cream shop that was only a little way away.

There wasn't really enough time for Sollux to respond before Aradia grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards it, "shit, you really want thome, don't you?" He laughed, wriggling his hand a little to make it more comfortable.

She didn't even turn back, "well I was waiting for quite a while, and I was tempted to run over there to grab one before you came, but I was afraid I'd get my new book dirty." When they walked into the shop, they both began eyeing up the plethora of flavours, "oh God, I think I'll have to get one of those pots instead of a cone, you know? I can't decide on a flavour!"

Sollux frowned as Aradia squeezed his hand, "then get a mixth? I know which oneth I want." He hesitated before pulling her arm playfully, "want me to treat uth? I'm feeling generouth today." He grinned as he felt his arm being yanked gently, there was something oddly satisfying about playing around like this, it felt just like old times, and that was something that Sollux missed most about their relationship, they really did have a lot of fun together.

"Nope, it's my turn to treat us, and I insist on you getting the four scoop pot, so get choosing, Captor." Aradia flashed that beautiful smile, and Sollux felt his chest tighten ever so slightly.

When they walked out of the shop, they finally let go of eachother's hands in favour of eating their frozen dessert; Sollux started eating both of his mint scoops before he touched his double chocolate scoops, and he glanced down at Aradia.

She was happily tasting each of her flavours, and Sollux noticed the slight pink dusting her tanned cheeks, and the way her wild hair bounced gently as they walked, and the way her bright red lips brushed against the little white spoon-

"Sollux? Are you alright?"

He jumped back a little, and blinked furiously, "fuck, yeah, shit. Thorry, I wath looking at your ithe cream."

Aradia giggled, and shook her head, "I thought so!" She held out the pot, pursing her lips slightly, "I suppose that just this once you can have a try, but I expect to taste yours in return!"

They swapped pots, and Sollux tried her strawberry, white chocolate, fudge and caramel icecream before handing it back, smiling sheepishly, "fuck, I wish I'd gotten the caramel one now, that'th fucking amathing." He quickly lifted his own pot above his head as Aradia tried to share it with him, "eat it yourthelf! I wathn't hinting for you to give me yourth, you idiot!" He couldn't help but laugh as Aradia slapped his arm with her plastic spoon.

While they ate, they shared small talk and looked at the various display windows of the shops. It was pretty relaxing, and Sollux started to thoroughly enjoy himself; he found himself smiling, and he didn't even mind that he was lisping in front of her, it just felt so natural. They didn't stop walking until they had reached a park, and Sollux was surprised to see that it was empty.

After throwing their now empty icecream pots in a bin, Aradia ran over to one of the swings, and sat down, "come on, Sollux! Let's have some fun!" She called, waving him over.

Sollux didn't even hesitate, and although he refused to run, he did hurry his way over to join her. He sat down on the second swing, and kicked off, "shit, I haven't been on one of thethe in ageth." He thought wistfully back to the last time he had taken Mituna to a park, he didn't do it often, as Mituna did most of his outdoor activities with Latula.

Aradia laughed as they competed to get higher than eachother, but Sollux eventually slowed down to a more relaxed motion. He was actually enjoying being outside in the sunshine for once, and he couldn't help but think that this was because of the fact he was spending it with Aradia.

"Sollux," Aradia slowed to a stop. She didn't look up from the floor as she spoke, "I know we've been dancing around the subject, and I appreciate that you might've been doing that because you're still upset, but I think we should talk about it."

This came as a shock to Sollux, and he watched her curiously, "what?"

It obviously took a lot of effort to do, but Aradia finally dragged her eyes away from the ground, to hold Sollux's eye contact, "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Sollux." She shook her head as he opened his mouth, "no, what I did to you was unforgivable, and I'm nothing but ashamed of myself. It was just, sometimes it was like you was fluctuating between loving me and... Not."

Sollux couldn't react, he sat frozen in place, with his lips parted.

"That's no excuse though, my actions are only the fault of my own, and I just can't apologise enough, Sollux." Though Aradia's eyes welled up a little, she refused to cry, and Sollux felt that familiar tightness in his chest. She had always been so strong, it was such a rarity to see her cry, she had always been his rock. "I'm so sorry, Sollux."

It was a difficult situation. One on hand, the wounds that Aradia had inflicted on him were still a little fresh, even after all this time, and Sollux still felt bitter about how she betrayed him. But on the other hand, she was Aradia; she had been the one thing that he had ever loved unconditionally, asides from Mituna. She was apologising to him, and Sollux realised that it was the one thing that he had wanted to hear, and he had been waiting to hear it for so long.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling incredibly conflicted; he could tell her to fuck off right now, and never have to see her ever again, or he could forgive her, and continue hanging out with her.

The hesitation allowed a heavy silence to hang in the air, but Sollux was too consumed in his own thoughts to notice. After a moment, he finally pulled himself out of the chaos to speak, "look, AA, I think if I wath thtill pithed, I would have told you to fuck off inthtead of hanging out with you." He kicked his legs, and started swinging again, "tho don't worry about it, it'th water under the bridge."

Aradia jumped up, and grabbed Sollux into a hug, holding him tightly, "thank you Sollux, it means so much to hear you say that! And I promise, I _will_ make it up to you." The momentum of Sollux's gentle swinging almost made them topple over, so Sollux grabbed her and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

They continued to embrace eachother for a little while, and Sollux rested his chin on the top of her head once again. He could smell earth and roses, and he remembered how they would cuddle in bed, and how Aradia would drape herself over him when he was working on a code, and they would laugh. His breath caught, and he remembered every detail of the body that he had explored with gentle kisses and lingering touches.

He remembered just how much he had loved her.

When they pulled away, Sollux blinked away the tears that pricked his eyes, and gave a wide grin, "tho, are you feeling a bit better now?" He asked, trying desperately to ignore the aching in his ribcage.

Aradia nodded, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, grinning sheepishly, "yeah. Thank you, Sollux." She smiled gratefully, and returned to her swing.

Sollux felt like a piece of shit. He wanted to tell Aradia about Eridan, but it just didn't seem like the right time. He rationalised that there was nothing stopping him from texting her once he got home, though. Yes, that's what he would do.

When they left the park, Aradia took hold of Sollux's hand once again, and they talked about college and their plans for the rest of the week. It wasn't until Aradia asked if Sollux wanted to come round to visit her new place, that Sollux excused himself and told her that he had too much work to do and that he really should getting home, but he promised that next time they hung out, he would.

Aradia gave Sollux a big hug, and tiptoed to press her lips to his cheek before they parted ways.

As Sollux started walking home, he couldn't help but try and deny, and ignore, how she had made him feel. It physically hurt him knowing that she still had an effect on him, and he desperately tried to lie to himself, but the ache in his chest was undeniable.

This was not what he had wanted to happen.

-.-.-.-.-

Eridan beeped his horn as he pulled up to Sollux's apartment building. It was Friday, and he had been planning on taking Sollux out for a nice day at the spa, but the nerd had complained so much that Eridan had scrapped the idea, and had spent another three days trying to come up with something that they would both enjoy.

He looked down at his outfit, and huffed. It was baggy, and quite frankly, a scruffy abomination in his opinion. Unfortunately, it was the only thing that he could actually bear to see getting destroyed, which was an inevitability considering the date he had planned.

After waiting patiently for another half a second, Eridan beeped the horn loudly once again, "what the hell could Sol be doin' that's more important than gettin' his ass out here an seein' _me_?"

"Erifin, clam down," Feferi poked the side of his head from the passenger seat, "he'll be out in a second, if you gave him half a chance!"

This only made Eridan fold his arms grumpily, and he glared at the door until it opened and Sollux walked out, followed promptly by Karkat and Gamzee.

"Sea, there they are!" Feferi leant over and waved at the entourage through the passenger seat window.

Sollux opened one of the back doors, and let himself in, looking a little confused, "hey ED, hey FF, what the fuck'th going on?" He had no idea about the date, all he had been told was that Karkat, Gamzee and Feferi would be coming, and that he needed to wear some thick clothes that could get messy, and possibly thrown away.

The back seat looked like a bit of a squeeze; Gamzee was sat behind Feferi, and Karkat was sat in the middle, as usual Sollux had taken his place behind the driver's seat.

Eridan ignored Sollux's question in favour of starting the car, and pulling away from the curb. He turned on the radio, and kept it on a low volume so that they could all talk over the top of it, "what took you so long, Sol? I was waitin' for ages."

Feferi stopped rifling through her bag to reach over and flick Eridan's ear, "shut up, Eridan, we were only waiting for a minute! You're just too impatient." She returned to her bag and pulled out a little pot of face paint, "aha!"

This comment just caused Eridan to huff dramatically, and when nobody tried to insist that it was bullshit and that he was in no way impatient, he just grumbled under his breath about the injustice of it all.

After a minute of fumbling with a makeup brush, a bottle of water, and the pot of facepaint, Feferi finally turned round to look at everyone. She had painted two thick black lines on both her cheeks, "you buoys had better prepare your asses, I'm not going to be gentle with anyone!" She cheerfully handed the brush, bottle and facepaint back to Gamzee when he reached for them.

Soon Karkat was yelling at Gamzee, "get that fucking shit away from my face, or I swear on everything good in this world, I will shove that brush so far up your asshole you'll never be able to pull it back out!" This warning was promptly ignored by Gamzee, who quickly painted a line under each of Karkat's eyes with an experienced hand.

Sollux's laughter at his best friend's misfortune died as he was suddenly grabbed into a headlock by the shorter man, "KK! Get your handth off me, you bitch-turd!" He yelled, punching Karkat's leg angrily. It was to no avail though, as he was only released after he had received the same paint job as Karkat.

Once they were out of the way, Gamzee began working on himself, and Feferi giggled as she saw that he had drawn black camouflage streaks down his own face, "you motherfuckers should have sat still for longer, because I would have gotten my Van Gogh on, and made you look as good as me." He handed the items back to Feferi, and looked a little smug.

They continued driving, and Sollux became more and more confused as he realised that they were getting further away from the city, and Eridan wasn't arguing against the face paint situation, "ED, where the fuck are we going?" He asked, hoping that this time Eridan would give him an answer.

Eridan allowed his eyes to flick up to the rear-view mirror for a second to look at Sollux, "well, seein' as you didn't want to go to the spa, even though it would a been the most relaxin' day you'd ever experienced, I was thinkin' we could do somethin' else I enjoy doin'." He smiled as it was only Sollux who hadn't been told about the plans, "Sol, we're goin' shootin'."

-.-.-

When they got to the forest area of the paintballing place, they had been split up to join the already-established groups. Any other group of friends would have asked to stay together, but Eridan and Sollux were too competitive, and they took it as a fun challenge, so they stayed separated.

Sollux, Karkat and Gamzee were all put on the yellow team, and they were hiding out in a small wooden shed-like building. The rest of their team had split off in order to find the members of the blue team.

"Shit, thith ith fucking thtrethful, I haven't theen anyone from the blue team in ageth." Sollux narrowed his eyes, and wiped a fleck of mud off the visor of his mask.

Karkat snorted and tapped his large gun against his own leg, "they've got Eridan on their side. That git's probably given them fucking strategy tips to help hunt us down."

Sollux frowned, "fucking bookworming bathtard." He muttered.

They finally made the decision to leave the safety of their shed, in order to hunt down the other team. It was only after they were no longer within a short sprinting distance from their barricade that the blue paint began flying.

Karkat screamed and leapt behind Gamzee, using him as a very tall human shield, but Sollux didn't even notice; he had already legged it, and was sprinting away from the ambush, running blindly through the trees, desperately looking for another safe place to catch his breath.

Once his lungs began burning, Sollux finally allowed himself to slow down, and he hid himself behind a tree. He gulped down mouthfuls of air, and sagged against the tree; he was surprised that he could feel the rough bark through the layers of his own clothing and the camouflaged overalls.

He looked to his side, and suddenly realised that he was alone. Despite the fact he had shot off like a rocket, he had kind of expected Karkat and Gamzee to follow him, but they were nowhere to be seen.

A slight panic settled in his chest, and Sollux tried to pretend that his quickened respiratory rate was an effect of him still being out of breath, rather than because he was alone in a fucking forest, and he might be alone for hours. He clutched at his stomach, and doubled over, trying to force himself to calm down. It would all be okay, it would be fine, someone would find him. He wrenched his mask off, and leant against the tree, once again trying to force himself to take deep breaths.

Everything was not going to be okay.

Just as Sollux started to give in to the onset of the panic attack, he saw someone ahead of him. His eyes snapped to the bright blue armband, and the gun in their hands. In his chaotic mind, he could only think that the person was about to shoot him, and that somehow terrified him just as much as being lost did. He couldn't hear anything above the blood rushing through his ears, and when the person began jogging over, he couldn't stop the yelp of terror that wrenched itself past his lips, and he lifted his own gun and fired.

Unfortunately, the person was pretty close, and the paintball thudded into their chest at pretty much point-blank range. They grabbed their chest as the yellow paint exploded over their overalls, and they yanked their own mask from their face.

"SOL! You fuckin' idiot that _hurt_!" Eridan shouted, looking livid. His angry disposition dissolved as Sollux pulled him into a hug, "wwhoa, come on, I ain't _that_ pissed off, it just hurt is all."

Sollux leant down and pressed grateful kisses to Eridan's face, feeling incredibly relieved that he had been found by Eridan of all people. He continued his flurry of kisses until Eridan pushed him away.

"Get off, you sap, what's gotten into you?" Eridan raised an eyebrow as Sollux refused to let go, "I followed you to shoot you in the ass, an I find that you've taken your mask off, so I can't shoot you, an then you shoot me!"

He was so relieved that Eridan had found him, and that he was saved, that he didn't even care about what the hipster had just said; he just wanted to be with Eridan, because Eridan was safe, Eridan wouldn't abandon him, Eridan was-

Eridan pulled away from the embrace, as something wet landed on his face. He was about to scream at the bird that must've just shit on him, when he saw that Sollux had teared up, "oh God, Sol, wwhat's wwrong?"

"Pleathe don't leave me alone." Sollux blurted out before he could stop himself. The floodgates had cracked a little, and he could feel himself straining ever so slightly under the weight of the distress and panic that was clawing it's way through his gut. "P-pleathe, Eridan, pleathe."

"Shit, Sol, I ain't leavin' you, come on. I'd never leave you." Eridan pulled a glove off to stroke Sollux's cheek soothingly, "why the fuck would I ever leave someone as brilliant as you?" He offered his boyfriend a warm smile.

Sollux shrugged and suddenly couldn't hold back the flood of self hatred. He felt so pathetic for not being able to cope with something as simple as just getting lost in a fucking paintball forest without feeling like the world was going to end. He was just the worst person, he was weak and worthless, and no one really liked him, he was ugly, and he wasn't good enough, he was selfish, and all he wanted was to have someone who wouldn't abandon him, and who would help him, oh God, someone help him, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he was drowning again, and no one would care, and-

Eridan pulled Sollux towards him, and made a calming, shushing noise. He wished that Karkat was there, because he was better at helping Sollux through his panic attacks, but he had to step up to the mark and do his best, because Sollux needed him. "Sol, I'm right here, okay? Everythin's goin' to be fine, I promise."

"I'm pathetic, oh God, I'm fucking pathetic. You're better off without me, everyone would be better off if I wathn't here!" Sollux sobbed quietly, and Eridan flinched, then grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled away from the embrace, with a burning glare.

"Don't you evver say anythin' like that evver again, Sollux Captor. Do you hear me? No one wwould be better off wwithout you, an I'll kick anyones ass wwho says otherwwise." Eridan's glare wavered ever so slightly, and he watched as Sollux wiped his nose with a clean sleeve, "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You just can't see all the good shit you got goin' for you, is all. You're the smartest person I've ever known, you're hilarious, you're brilliant, you're surprisin'ly romantic when you want to be, you're fuckin' gorgeous, an your eyes are the most amazin' things I've ever seen in my life, you have the most wonderful laugh, an your smile can't be beaten, an I can't help but love you a little more every time I see you or hear your voice! So don't you _dare_ say that anyone wwould be better off wwithout you, because it ain't true!"

Sollux kissed Eridan desperately. He couldn't find the words to thank him, but he felt so much affection and love for the hipster, that he couldn't stop himself.

Between the hurried kisses, Eridan mumbled little compliments; blurting out everything that he adored about Sollux.

"Sol, I-" Eridan smiled as the lips were pressed against his own, and he returned the kiss before trying again, "I wanted to say-"

Sollux listened intently. Every time Eridan spoke, a little more of the weight on his chest was lifted, and the dark fog that clouded his brain was blown away.

Eridan smiled, and pulled back slightly, looking up into those heterochromia eyes, "Sol, you don't have to feel bad anymore, okay? I'll always be here for you, no matter what. I promise that shit'll get better, an if it doesn't, I'll be there to wade through it with you, because..." He hesitated, as his cheeks turned a little pink, "because, I lovve you, Sol."

The world seemed to stand still, and Sollux looked down at his boyfriend, feeling better than he had done in ages. He wouldn't have minded if the world ended at that moment, because he had never felt happier. Breathing was a hell of a lot easier for Sollux now, and he ran a paint-flecked glove through Eridan's hair, "thank you, Eridan." He whispered before leaning down and kissing him once again. He felt the hipster melt against him ever so slightly, but Sollux pulled him backwards towards the large tree, and held him against it.

Eridan tilted his head a little, and parted his lips to give Sollux's tongue entrance into his mouth. There was a slight desperation to the kiss, and Eridan imagined that it almost felt like it could have been the last one they would ever share. He nipped Sollux's tongue as he felt a thigh being pressed between his legs, but he didn't move away from the contact, instead, he moved himself against it, and relished in the feeling.

They clung to eachother for at least a minute before Eridan reluctantly pushed Sollux away, "alright, seriously Sol, I need a minute here." His cheeks were bright red, and he closed his eyes to calm himself down. After a minute Eridan pulled his mask back on, mostly to make sure that they wouldn't start making out again, "come on, I'll take you back to everyone, an then you can spend the rest a the time we got left here with Kar an Gam, okay?" He flinched as Sollux nudged him.

"What'th wrong, ED?" Sollux asked as he followed suit, and put his mask back on too.

Eridan frowned and touched his own chest tentatively, "you shot me, remember? Fuck, this is goin' to bruise like a bitch."

Sollux shrugged and took hold of Eridan's hand, "yeah, thorry about that, blame the panic attack." He paused for a second and took a deep breath, it was amazing just how different his chest felt now that he was calm, "thankth for coming after me, even if you _wath_ jutht hunting me to shoot my ath."

"Well, I might've been a little worried about you too, you know. Seein' as you ran off away from all the fuckin' safe places an shit." Eridan began leading them back, watching the trees for people from either team, "besides, bein' alone sucks, especially when you're in an unfamiliar place. I would know." He left it at that, and Sollux didn't ask any more questions.

When they spotted two people peeping out a safehouse, they stared at eachother suspiciously, until the incredibly lanky person waved lazily and called them over with a loud, "hey best friends!"

Sollux gave Eridan a gentle and affection-filled forehead bump, which wasn't really that sweet seeing as they were still wearing their thick face masks. He ran over to Karkat and Gamzee, and turned back to wave at Eridan, who was already jogging away to hide in the trees.

"FUCK!" Eridan spun around quickly as he felt himself get shot three times; his back, his left leg, and his right ass cheek were the victims. He saw Karkat and Sollux suddenly duck out of sight, but Gamzee remained standing, once again waving.

-.-.-

Once they were all back in the car, Eridan began grumbling about how it was almost like everyone was _looking_ for ways to disrespect him, especially seeing as Feferi had shot his left ass cheek only five minutes before the end of the game. He listened to the four of them talking happily, and on any other day he would have appreciated the comradery, but not when it was being used against him.

To make matters worse, Eridan couldn't even stay mad long, because Feferi knew all of his buttons, and as soon as she began bragging about how amazing his aim was, he quickly joined in with the conversation. Mostly to boast.

Gamzee and Karkat were both dropped off at the apartment building, while Feferi was brought back to Eridan's. When they got to Eridan's house, Feferi unbuckled herself, "whale, it was a lot of fun, wasn't it? Thanks for bringing me along, Erifin!" She opened the car door, and offered them both a wide smile, "sorry about shooting you in the boat... bass... Wow, there are so many bum puns!" She giggled and jumped out of the car, just as Eridan and Sollux followed suit.

"Fuckin' hilarious, Fef, really, thanks for that." Eridan pouted, slamming his door shut. He shot Sollux a glare as the nerd failed to stop himself from snickering behind his back, "oh yeah, laugh it up, asshole. You're the one who'll be sleepin' in the garden."

Feferi rolled her eyes, and stepped in to stop the inevitable squabble, "oh you buoys, why don't you just have a nice, relaxing bubble bath?" She frowned a little at Eridan, "you definitely need one, seeing as your hair has paint in it."

This made Eridan pull a horrified face, and duck down to check his reflection in his car's side mirror, "oh God! This is all _your_ fault, Sol! Right, I need a nice fuckin' bath, an a shower!" He stomped up to the front door, and unlocked it.

Sollux snorted and waved to Feferi as she got into her own car, which had been parked on the pavement outside Eridan's home, "later, FF, it wath fun theeing you!" He called.

"You too, Sollux! Maybe next time your team will actually win!" Feferi poked her tongue out, and started the car. She drove away, leaving Sollux on the garden path with Eridan.

The both of them headed inside, and Sollux followed Eridan upstairs. He wasn't surprised when he saw that the first thing Eridan did was start running a bubble bath, "bubbleth, Eridan? Theriouthly?" He snorted as he watched Eridan pouring the viscous, lilac liquid into the bathtub.

"Yes. It'll help sooth my muscles, you asswipe." Eridan huffed again, and began pulling off his baggy clothing. Once he was down to his socks and boxers, he plodded around to grab two large towels, and then held one out to Sollux, "here, you may as well have a shower while we're... What's wrong?" Eridan frowned and tilted his head.

Sollux was staring at the large bruise on Eridan's chest; it was a sore-looking red in the centre, but it deepened to a maroon. There was also a band of purple, which peppered the blue skin. It almost looked pretty, like a speckled, blossoming flower, but Sollux knew that it must've hurt like hell, and he felt nothing but guilt when he looked at it.

"ED, I am tho fucking thorry." Sollux whispered, reaching out with shaking fingers to touch the large bruise. He leant forwards and pressed a kiss to Eridan's forehead, feeling like an absolute dick once again.

Eridan poked his stomach, and smiled, "Sol, it's fine, I'm probably covered in bruises, and if you got undressed you'd probably find a load on yourself, too." He would have been angry, but he knew that Sollux had been in the midst of a panic attack, so it wasn't as if he'd done it maliciously or anything. He pulled himself away from his boyfriend and returned to his bath; he swished the water around with a hand before turning to look at Sollux again, "oh my God, what now? You look like you've just seen a baby bein' kicked or somethin'."

The scratch on Eridan's back hadn't completely healed, and Sollux stared at it sadly. His panic attacks were the cause of so much pain for his boyfriend, and it was starting to make him feel like the worst person in the world. He got himself undressed, and tried to focus on all the small bruises on his own body, but he couldn't.

The only sound came from the sloshing water, and Eridan felt a little uneasy with the awkward silence. When he saw Sollux fiddling with his own hair in the mirror, Eridan strolled over. He knew that his boyfriend was feeling guilty, so in his mind, there was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath, and moved in between Sollux and the mirror; Eridan noticed that he would have to lean up to kiss him on the lips now, as the nerd had been standing a lot straighter recently, instead of slouching.

Sollux jumped as Eridan began pressing little kisses against his neck, "ED?" He smiled a little as Eridan pushed him against the sink. He opened his mouth to say something snarky, when he felt a sharp pain, "OW! Fuck!"

Eridan reached up and pulled Sollux's hair playfully. He rolled his tongue against the bite mark, then sucked roughly. When he felt Sollux shiver slightly,he pulled away,"there, we're even now." Eridan smiled, stepping back to allow Sollux to look at his new bruise.

"Thankth, athhole. I really fucking appreciate having you bite the fuck out of me." Sollux mumbled, but he smiled slightly, knowing that this was Eridan's way of trying to absolve him of the guilt of causing him any pain. He looked at the purplish bruise on his reflection, and thought that it was a bloody good hickey.

While Sollux was admiring his handiwork, Eridan strolled back over to his bath, and turned the taps off, he pulled his socks and boxers off, then climbed in. He sighed loudly and stretched as soon as he was sat down; the water was lovely and warm, and he considered never leaving. Just as Eridan was imagining his future as a water-dwelling bath goblin, he opened an eye, and peeked at Sollux, "hey Sol, can you bring my shampoo and conditioner over here, please?"

Sollux hadn't even noticed that Eridan was no longer stood next to him, he gave a quick thumbs up before stepping over to the shower, and grabbing the two plastic bottles, then walked over to the bath. "You look pretty relaxthed in there, ED." He smiled as Eridan took the bottles off him, but he yelped as a wet arm circled his waist.

"Sol, are you gettin' in, or are you havin' a shower instead?" Eridan pulled at the waistband of his boxer shorts a little, and looked up hopefully.

"To be honetht, I _wath_ planning on having a shower, but how can I thay no to you?" Sollux covered himself with a hand as he pulled his boxers down, and climbed into the bath. The water felt pretty fucking good, and Sollux had to admit, his boyfriend really _did_ know how to run a good bath. "It'th been yearth thince I've had bubbleth." He mused.

Eridan leaned back and disappeared under the water for a second, before surfacing and wiping bubbles away from his face, "I have them when I'm feelin' particularly stressed." He smiled as he began vigorously lathering shampoo into his own hair, "Sol help yourself to my hair shit."

This comment almost passed without notice, as Sollux's head was filled with that wonderfully faint aroma of coconut. He had grown to love that smell, it calmed him and he found it almost reassuring.

While Sollux appeared to be day-dreaming, Eridan took the opportunity to rinse his hair off with the bath's shower-head attachment. He smiled as Sollux finally seemed to snap out of his daze, "welcome back to the land a the livin'."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, jutht path me the shampoo."

Once they had both completed Eridan's routine, Eridan leant back against Sollux and closed his eyes. They didn't speak, nor did they need to, they just held eachother contently, and relaxed.

Eridan could feel Sollux's heart pounding, and he tipped his head back against Sollux's chest. It was only after the nerd began complaining about how pruney his hands were getting, and also that the water was getting 'cold as fuck', that they both climbed out and wrapped themselves up in Eridan's fluffy violet towels.

Sollux threw on a pair of thin pyjama bottoms, and a plain black t-shirt, and he watched Eridan get changed into a thick jumper and jogging bottoms, "Jethuth, it'th like you're cold blooded, or thomething!" He laughed.

"Yeah well, we can't all be livin' radiators like you. Now get over here, I'm goin' to blow dry your hair before you catch a fuckin' cold." This was a lie, Eridan knew that Sollux wouldn't have caught a cold, but he couldn't resist the temptation to have a play around with his boyfriend's hair, especially seeing as the nerd never seemed to do anything with it.

Once Sollux was sat at his vanity table, Eridan promptly set to work drying it, as promised, but he pouted when Sollux refused to let him style it in any way.

-.-.-

The spaghetti bolognese that Eridan had made had been delicious, and once the dishes had been washed and packed away, Eridan and Sollux had gone out to the garden. They were sat on the deckchairs, and Eridan was chatting away happily about how well he'd been training Barbossa the Horsea, and that it had evolved into a Seadra on the Tuesday. He was also pleased about the fact that he only needed to trade with Sollux and then he'd finally have a purple Kingdra, but he wanted to trade Barbossa over and have Sollux put the Dragon Scale on him before trading him back, so that Barbossa evolved on Eridan's DS.

Sollux listened to Eridan's speech with a smile on his face. He loved the fact that Eridan was enjoying the game so much, and he loved the fact that Eridan really gave so much of a crap about the shiny Pokemon he had spent so long breeding, but more than anything else, Sollux loved the fact that Eridan looked so happy, and was so damn passionate, and...

"ED."

Eridan stopped in his tracks, thinking that maybe he had pissed Sollux off with his constant talking, "yeah? What's up?"

Sollux smiled, and reached over, grabbing Eridan's hand, "I jutht wanted to thay that I'm pretty fucking happy right now, I mean, with thith, and you, and everything."

"Wwell I'm happy wwith you too, Sol." Eridan's cheeks turned a little pink, and he squeezed Sollux's hand firmly.

"I know. Look, I'm thorry that I'm not all... Poetic and shit, like you, and I can thound like an idiot ninety-nine perthent of the time, but I..." Sollux cleared his throat, and turned away from Eridan. This stuff didn't come naturally to him, and it was hard to come up with a way of saying it that would stay true to himself, while also helping him not look like an idiot.

Eridan watched him hopefully; he had been a little self conscious seeing as he had admitted his feelings to Sollux, and hadn't received anything back, but it was finally happening. He suppressed the smile that was threatening to appear on his face, and instead tried to look cute and inquisitive.

"Shit, I jutht wanted to thank you for earlier, and thay that I altho... I kind of..." Sollux wrung his hands together and cursed himself, because normal people shouldn't find things like this so Goddamn hard, "I-"

Sollux's phone blasting it's usual ringtone made them both jump, and Eridan screamed, "GOD DAMN IT, KARKAT VANTAS!" As they both saw who was calling.

Eridan grumbled to himself as he stormed back into the house to get himself a glass of water, he couldn't believe that Karkat had gotten in the way again, and he was thinking that the next time he saw the short asshole, he would punch him in his stupid fat head and-

He jumped as he felt arms curling reassuringly around his chest, and Sollux's soft voice whispering against his ear.

"I love you, ED."


	38. Missed Messages

The finishing date for everyone's courses was rapidly approaching, and Sollux was a little pissed to hear that Eridan would be finishing a full three weeks before him.

"Thith ith bullshit, how come your courthe endth nextht week?" He grumbled, leaning back in his chair as he watched Eridan dish up the curry he had been making.

"Well, I also started my school year earlier, you know?" Eridan made his way over to the Kitchen table, and set down the plates, "but don't worry, I'll keep my obviously distracting body away from you so that you can work on your final stuff and revisions in peace." He sat down, and picked up a fork. Sollux smiled as he noticed the curry had been plated the same way the spaghetti bolognese from their last date day had been; with the sauce on one side, not touching the rice, or spaghetti.

Sollux happily began eating; he had been working on some more programming when Eridan had messaged him about coming over for some dinner, and Sollux had realised that it was 6PM, and he had gone an entire day without eating. Again.

As they ate, Eridan suddenly began waving a hand to get Sollux's attention, and when the nerd looked at him with an extremely confused grimace, Eridan frowned and chewed as quickly as he could. Once his mouthful had been swallowed, Eridan drank a sip of water, then spoke, "I forgot to mention, Kan has asked me to go out with her for some celebratory drinks on Thursday. You see, most of us are pretty much done with our projects, although I usually find somethin' last minute, an go crazy tryin' to complete it on time," he rubbed the back of his neck, "but yeah, anyway, I kind a wanted to check what time you wanted me round on Friday for our date day, you know? I doubt I'll be gettin' drunk, but still, if I know I've got to get up early, I'll definitely keep away from havin' a sneaky whiskey, or two."

Shit. Sollux hadn't really thought about what they could do, and he was quickly leaning towards just having another lazy gaming day, so he shrugged, "do what you want, I mean, truthfully I haven't been able to come up with anything exthtravagant," he hesitated, before adding, "and to be completely honetht with you, I mothtly come up with my ideath latht minute, you know?"

Eridan shook his head in mock disbelief, "oh wow, really? I couldn't possibly believe that!" He poked Sollux's thigh with a grin, "well they're always bloody good dates, so it kind a works with you bein' so scatter-brained an such." His barrage of pokes ceased, as he returned his hand to his fork, and pushed around the rice on his plate.

Sollux took a moment to think, he really was shit at coming up with ideas for their dates, but he always _wanted_ to do something special, it was just that sometimes he just needed a uneventful day to wind down after a week of social interaction and bullshit. He listened to Eridan chatting away about all the artist friends who would be coming along for this drink, and he felt himself getting a little jealous; asides from being on a friendly basis with Roxy, Sollux wouldn't really consider himself _friends_ with many people in his class, but Eridan seemed to know everyone in his, and now he was going out with them.

"So I know for sure that Kan an Rose are comin', an I'm pretty sure that those twins I told you about will be there too, I mean, I like the girl, but the boy is a nasty piece a work." Eridan hummed for a second, and began listing off all the members of his class that would be attending, completely oblivious to Sollux's disinterested look.

Just as Sollux had begun stabbing random pieces of chicken with his fork, Eridan touched his free hand, "I know I might seem like a dick goin' out the night before our date night, but I promise, I'll be round promptly at lunch time." He lifted the hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles gently, "I promise."

Sollux rolled his eyes, but couldn't prevent the corners of his lips from twitching upwards, "fuck off, ED." He thought for a second, and then smirked, "and if you turn up all shitty and hung-over, I'm playing the loudetht, heavietht muthic I own, _and_ I'll make you eat a bag of M&M'th... _Blindfolded_."

Eridan scoffed, and looked absolutely horrified, "no, Sol that ain't even funny, what if I eat an orange one _after_ a blue? No, Sol, they've got to be organised before I eat them."

"You're tho fucking weird." Sollux said affectionately.

Once their plates were cleared, Eridan and Sollux left them to soak in the sink. They retired to the living room, and cuddled up on the sofa to watch some awful TV show that neither of them actually paid much attention to.

After a little while, Sollux glanced down at the hipster who was lying between his legs, with his head on his chest. He ran his fingers through Eridan's purple chunk of hair, "are you worried?" He asked quietly.

Eridan paused before turning his blue eyes towards Sollux, "about what?" He reached up and pulled Sollux's sunglasses off, not wanting there to be a barrier between them.

"You're finishing in a week, ED, doethn't that thcare the fucking shit out of you?" Sollux was honestly curious why his obsessive compulsive boyfriend wasn't tearing down the walls with worry.

"I already told you, I'm finished." Eridan stretched a little, and reached up to lazily play with Sollux's hair, "I make my lists, I follow my lists, I complete my work. It's how I function, Sol. Perfect organisation." He sighed contently.

Sollux leant against Eridan's hands, and enjoyed the way the Aquarius' nails trailed across his scalp, "yeah, I gueth, but thtill, it'th a worrying thing ithn't it? Finishing, and the finality of it."

"Sol, art ain't like that. It'll be nice to finish to be honest." Eridan hesitated, "look, some days I just can't draw, an it's fuckin hard to bring myself to lift up a pencil, you know? There's no inspiration, or motivation, an everythin' looks like complete bee ess, but when you have a deadline, you got to force yourself to do it, an you end up havin' to hand in some fuckin' shoddy crap that you ain't happy with. It's fuckin' shameful, but you kind a have to do it, you know? But when my course is over, art will be somethin' that's just for me again; no schedules an shit, it'll be amazin'." Eridan looked pretty excited, and he playfully pulled Sollux's ears outwards.

"I'm guething you haven't thuffered from much art block then?" Sollux asked, tilting his head to move his ears out of Eridan's grip.

Eridan sat up properly, and prodded Sollux's chest, "remember how I didn't really talk to you these past few days, asides from sayin' goodnight an stuff?" He puffed out his chest proudly, "well that was me havin' a manic art period, Sol. I didn't sleep for days, an I just drew an painted, an I fuckin finished off my final pieces. It was just about the best thing that could a happened to me."

Sollux had hardly even noticed the lack of communication, as he had been busy as hell himself, "fair enough, tho when can I thee your work, then?" He asked hopefully. His hopes were destroyed as he saw the terrified look on Eridan's face.

"Not noww Sol, seriously, I'm not good at showwin' off my art," he chewed the inside of his cheek, before reluctantly muttering, "fuck. Look, one a the things we have to do with our final pieces is present it nicely at our desks, because they have to be on display for the college's open days, so the people interested in joinin' the class can see what we do." He crossed his arms grumpily, and acted as if this was somehow the answer Sollux had been looking for.

"Tho what? What'th that got to do with me theeing your work?" Sollux flicked one of Eridan's ears, careful not to hit the piercing.

Eridan clamped a hand over his ear, before shooting Sollux an exasperated look, "Jesus, Sol, I'm tryin' to say that I'll let you come to the open day, an I'll show you my work, okay?" He huffed quietly, "I just want it to look perfect before I show it to you."

Sollux grinned, feeling victorious. He grabbed Eridan's cheeks, and pulled him close, pressing kisses against his lips, "thoundth good to me, ED. Thankth."

"Get off, you tit," Eridan grumbled, pulling himself out of Sollux's grasp, "you're just lucky I fuckin' love you, or I'd never agree to show you my drawin's."

"I'm the luckietht." Sollux grabbed Eridan again, and pulled him into a playful hug, "and I fucking love you too."

-.-.-

Sollux sighed as he received yet another photo from Eridan. This time it was a selfie of the entire group; they were clambering on top of eachother in the bar's booth, in an attempt to be included in the photo, and Eridan was sat right in the middle, pouting to try and look sad, which was a stark difference to the wide smiles plastered on everyone else's faces.

**'wwish you wwas here xxx'**

The fact that Sollux could see so many empty glasses on the table didn't help his anxiety. He usually didn't give a shit about these kinds of things, as he considered himself a pretty laid-back boyfriend, but the memory of the first time he and Eridan had gotten drunk played on his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little worried that someone else might try something with his boyfriend, and the alcohol would make him go along with it and-

Sollux shook his head, Eridan wasn't like that. Besides, if anyone even so much as _tried_ to chat him up, he'd probably just headbutt them. This thought made Sollux grin to himself, it was nice having a boyfriend who was strong, and completely unafraid to stand up for himself.

Even though he was still a little jealous, he had never felt tempted to tell Eridan he couldn't go. There was no way in hell that he was going to be that controlling. So with a sigh, he text back.

**'ii wii2h ii wa2 wiith you two, ED. have fun, ii can't waiit two 2ee you.'**

He set his phone down, and continued with his programming work, trying to think about how relaxed the date day was going to be, what with them both agreeing to have a nice day of Pokemon, and films. Sollux's mind wandered, and he considered making Eridan watch every episode of the Pokemon cartoon, afterall, the hipster had a lot of catching up to do.

It was 1AM when he got a phonecall.

"Thup, ED?" Sollux greeted, shifting to hold the phone against his head using his shoulder, so that he could continue typing.

Eridan's voice was a little slurred, and punctuated with snorts of laughter, "Solll? Hi! Hey, guess what, Sol."

Great. Eridan was more than a little tipsy, "what ith it?" Sollux tried to bite back a scathing remark, reasoning that Eridan would be fine after a nice sleep, and that this wasn't _too bad_.

"I happen to be a chivvil... Chivalrous gentleman," Eridan laughed softly, "I walked Kan an Rose all the way home, an now I'm walkin' back to mine."

Sollux rolled his eyes, "yeah, real gentlemanly, tho how wath your night? I'm guething you had a lot of fun?"

"Fuck, where am I? Oh, wait, sorry, I walked into someone's garden, shhh!" It sounded as if Eridan was pushing past some bushes, and then he started speaking again, "oh Sol, I had such a lot a fun, but I missed you! I told everyone about how handsome an hot my boyfriend is, an how pretty his eyes are, an how I love his voice, an how much I just love him!" Eridan sighed happily, and started singing something under his breath.

It was pretty tiring speaking to Eridan when he was like this, but Sollux wanted to make sure that he got home okay, besides, it was nice hearing that Eridan was talking about him in such a loving way, "yeah? Thankth ED. Maybe we can go out together thome time, and get a little tipthy ourthelveth, and thtumble back to mine and thee what happenth?" Sollux grinned to himself, and heard Eridan gasp dramatically.

"Sol! That's naughty! You know, shhh, you know I had someone else askin' me to do that tonight!" Eridan laughed obnoxiously, and Sollux felt his blood run cold, "he came up an asked me if I wanted a drink, an I said nope, an he asked if I wanted to come an sit with him, an maybe head back to his place, an guess what I said?"

Sollux's mouth suddenly felt very dry, and he shifted positions to hold the phone with his hand, "well I'm hoping you told him to fuck off." He mumbled.

Eridan laughed again, "I told him to shove his place up his arse! But... Sol, he was a bit weird, he kept lookin' at me from the bar an shit, an he sent like, three drinks over my table, an it was really weird." There was a little sniffing noise, and a pause, but when Eridan spoke again, his voice was lighter, "but oh my God, Sol, I had a _girl_ ask me to come an dance with her too!"

"Wow, really?" Sollux didn't even attempt to try and sound interested at this point, he just pressed his forehead against his desk, "damn it, Eridan, why do you have to attract that kind of attention? You're too... _You_."

There was a little hesitation before Eridan spoke again, but he sounded as if he was trying very hard not to slur his words, "Sol, I notice when people look at you, too. You never seem to see it, but you always have people givin' you second looks, an it's stupid because part a me feels like punchin' them in their fat heads, an another part a me feels... Proud, because I'm the one with you, you know?"

Sollux felt his cheeks burn, and he sat up to listen properly, "no one lookth at me like that, come on." He kicked his legs to roll his computer-chair over to his mirror, and looked at himself closely, trying to see what these non-existent strangers supposedly saw in him, "bethideth no one ever buyth _me_ drinkth, or athkth me to danthe, or anything like that."

"Sol, you never go anywhere that would end up with you dancin', an maybe you're always with someone who looks like your partner when you're drinkin', but you seriously do get a lot a people lookin' at you. It's because you're gorgeous, even when your eyes are covered, an I'm fuckin' lucky. Lucky, lucky, lucky." He paused for a moment, "I'm cold I think I'm goin' to head inside now."

"You're already home?" Sollux rolled back over to his computer and saved his programming progress, then stood up and stretched.

Eridan yawned loudly, and there was a jingling sound that Sollux assumed was made by a set of keys, "mhm, I'm home. Hey Sol, I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I'm goin' to dress in my best clothes an you can ask me if I want to dance, okay?"

This made Sollux laugh, "I don't danthe, but sure, I'll athk you if you want to thtand with me and bob awkwardly to muthic. I can't wait to thee you either, ED." He started laughing as Eridan began singing loudly.

" _Heaven, heaven! I'm in heaven, an my heart beats so that I can hardly speak, an I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!_ " There was a sudden clattering noise, and Sollux snorted as he realised that Eridan had dropped the phone, "sorry about that Sol, I tried to spin an nearly fell on my ass! But I bet you didn't know I like jazz, an that I could sing like a fuckin' angel."

Sollux couldn't even help himself, "that wath the furthetht from angelic I've ever heard, ED. No offenthe, but you could kill angelth with that warbling bullshit."

After laughing for a little while, Eridan forced his voice to sound as pissed off as possible, "how dare you Sol, I am a musical genius. Anyway, I'm fuckin' chilly as shit, an I think my nipples are in danger a fallin' off, so I am goin' to head in an go to bed. I love you, Sol."

"I love you too, ED. Night." Sollux looked down at his phone, and hung up. He shook his head, grinning, before setting his phone down on his desk, and heading to the bathroom to have a shower.

Sollux stripped off, and turned the taps. It was nice to stand under the stream of steaming, hot water, as his muscles were aching ridiculously. After standing under the water for what seemed like forever, he finally reached for the new shampoo he had bought himself; he uncapped it, and gave a sniff, smiling at the smell of honey and apricot. Eridan had insisted on choosing the set of shampoo and conditioner, promising Sollux that his hair would look and feel amazing if he started using it; Sollux didn't mind about how his hair looked, but he appreciated the fact that the name of the products was ' _bee strong_ ', and this had actually been one of the things that made him decide that it would become his regular showering product. Afterall, who couldn't appreciate a good bee pun now and again? It was a beautiful thing.

He was in a surprisingly good mood considering that he had been so anxious, and even a little pissed off earlier, and Sollux couldn't help but think that it was because Eridan had turned down the guy's offer, and had actually sounded truthful when he mentioned the fact that strangers gave him second glances. It was nice to hear things like that every now and again.

After drying himself with a towel, Sollux pulled his shirt and boxers back on and flopped into his bed. He considered double-checking his alarm, but didn't see a point. He was pretty sure that he had set it, and even if he didn't, what was the worst thing that could happen? Eridan would come in, and either wake him up, or climb straight into bed with him, it was a win-win situation, and that made Sollux consider actually turning his alarm off.

He snuggled down into his pillows, and felt extremely relaxed. It didn't take long for him to drift off.

-.-.-

Sollux mumbled incoherently as he started waking up, and he pulled his quilt over his head to block out the sunlight. He tried to fall back asleep by staying completely still, and clenching his eyes shut, but it didn't work. After about ten minutes or so, he groaned and got up, reasoning that he would get himself some breakfast before Eridan came round.

He picked up his phone, and frowned at the time, it was already 2PM, but no one had woken him up yet. Sollux got up, and left his room, noticing that he had a couple of missed calls, so maybe someone had tried to wake him up by phoning him.

Karkat was sat in the living room, watching a film, and he jumped as Sollux walked down the stairs, "holy fucking shit, Sollux, you baggy asshole! Try and make some noise when you walk into a room, you scared the shit out of me!" He frowned at Sollux's expression, "what the fuck are you looking at?"

"ED'th not here with you?" Sollux asked. He started to rationalise that Eridan was probably hung over, and he actually felt pretty pissed off that the hipster had let himself get _that_ drunk. After making his way over to Karkat, and flopping down onto the sofa next to him, he checked his phone for the missed calls, and noticed the answer phone message.

The missed calls were from about five minutes after Sollux had hung up to have a shower, meaning that he missed them because he was washing himself. He rolled his eyes, "lookth like ED wanted to thay goodnight again." He muttered, lifting the phone to his ear to listen to the robotic answer phone service. It took him a minute or so to get into his messages, but after typing in the long string of numbers, he finally heard the message.

Eridan's voice crackled to life in his ear, and Sollux laughed at the first sentence, "shit Sol, this ain't my house. Shhh! Fuck... This, this is seriously not my house."

"Oh my God, KK, lithten to thith." Sollux turned on the speaker phone, and Karkat paused his film to listen to Eridan's drunken mumblings.

"Sol, Sol, Sol, I think I know where I am, but fuck, how the shit did I even end up here? This is bullcrap, I swear, I'm never doin' the gentlemanly thing again, an walkin' anyone home, they can kiss my ass," There was a pause as a car drove past, then Eridan continued, "right I think I need to go left, don't I? Sol? Do I?"

Sollux and Karkat tried not to laugh out loud, so that they could listen, and not miss anything. This could end up being something that they could use against Eridan, maybe as a way of getting out of going on a particularly spa-orientated date.

"Sol, are you even there? Fuckin' hell, I phone you up an you're all silent an- oh wait," there was a brief snort-laughing session from Eridan, and it sounded as if he slapped his own forehead, "oh my God, I'm so dumb, this is an answer phone message! You'll have to text me after you listen to it, an tell me if I'm goin' the right way, okay? Okay." The sound of Eridan's footsteps were the only thing Karkat and Sollux could hear for about three minutes.

Karkat rolled his eyes, "Sollux, I think your crusty nipple of a boyfriend forgot he was even on the phone, this could be like an hour or just listening to him walking in circles until he passes out in a bin." Despite this, Karkat seemed enthralled by the message, and he listened intently.

Sollux was about to retort, when he heard something that made his heart freeze in his chest.

"Sol," Eridan was whispering into the phone, and he actually sounded scared. It was the first thing he had said in a couple of minutes, and Sollux didn't like the tone of his voice, "there are some people behind me, an they've been walkin' behind me for a while now, an I think they're followin' me."

Sollux and Karkat looked at eachother, and the sickeningly numb feeling of fear crept through Sollux's veins, "KK, can you try an phone ED, pleathe?" He mumbled, hardly even feeling his lips move as he spoke.

Karkat dove forwards at the table, and snatched up his phone, dialing quickly.

Eridan's breathing had quickened, "oh God, I'm goin' down different roads, an they're still there, they're still right fuckin' behind me." He sniffed quietly, and there was a rustling noise, "Sol, I think your place is closer, I'm goin' to come over. I'm not okay, Sol."

The silence in the living room was thick and heavy, and Sollux felt his stomach drop. He swallowed and never tore his eyes away from the phone, "KK, pleathe tell me that you saw Eridan thith morning."

Karkat hung up his own phone, "I think I would have fucking told you if I did, Sollux. Fuck, he's not answering, FUCK!" He quickly tried calling Eridan again, and chewed nervously on his thumb nail.

Sollux nearly threw his phone against the wall when he heard a voice he didn't recognise, "oi mate, have you got a light?"

From the way that the voices suddenly became muffled, Sollux thought to himself that Eridan had probably put his phone in his pocket to hide it from the people.

He held his own phone closer to his ear, trying to hear the quiet voices, and Katkat continued to try and get hold of Eridan. Sollux frowned, he thought he heard something about 'don't smoke, sorry' and 'can my friend use your phone', but he couldn't hear. "Damn it, ED! What the fuck are they thaying?" Sollux shouted, wishing that Eridan would answer his damn phone and speak to Karkat.

"Fuck off!" Eridan suddenly screamed, and there was a thudding noise, followed by an unfamiliar voice groaning. Sollux's breathing quickened, and he looked at Karkat fearfully, as the sounds of a fight came from the phone.

It didn't last long, but soon the shouts of pain from the unknown voices stopped, and there was only the continuous, loud, thumping noise, punctuated by faint, agony-filled whimpers. Sollux covered his mouth as he listened, and wanted nothing more than to hang up, and pretend it never happened, but he had to listen, he had to make sure that Eridan was okay.

The dull thudding seemed to last forever, and Sollux felt his heart break when the whimpering was suddenly silenced, "Eridan?" He whispered to the phone, willing his boyfriend to answer somehow.

There was a second before he heard some weird rummaging noises, and Sollux glanced pleadingly at Karkat, who shook his head, and redialed once again.

Eridan's message suddenly ended, and Sollux tried to think of a reason that it was bullshit, why it couldn't be true. He looked around desperately, and ignored the fact that his cheeks were wet, and that Karkat was gripping his shoulder tightly with a hand. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, willing himself to wake up, because this had happened before, it was just a dream, it was just another awful, horrific dream, and he needed to wake up, because Eridan was on his way over, and he was going to ask the hipster to dance, and they were both going to bob awkwardly to some jazz music, just like they promised, and his alarm would go off at any moment, and he would wake the fuck up.

He felt the contents of his stomach shift, and his blood ran cold when Karkat spoke.

"Sollux, his phone just got turned off."


	39. Wishing for Home

Eridan curled himself into a ball in an attempt to protect his head and chest as best he could. He struggled to tense up enough that the kicks he was trying to endure would hurt slightly less. It was getting harder to prevent the tiny sounds from slipping past his lips, but it was even more difficult to keep a level head and to think straight.

He had been grabbed by the tallest stranger, and he remembered screaming something, then slamming his forehead into their face, trying to buy himself a second to at least _try_ to run away, but it had proven to be a fruitless endeavour. The three other males had leapt straight into action, attacking Eridan without any hesitation, and despite the fact that he had fought them off for a minute or so, there was no way in hell that he would actually be able to win against four people.

There had been a sickening moment, in which Eridan actually believed that he might have had half a hope in beating enough of the group, and that they would all just leave him alone; he swung his fists at his assailants, and most of his punches connected in places that he knew would hurt most. This was all well and good for the first minute or so, but all it took was for one of the men to boot him viciously in the gut, and Eridan dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach and gulping down air.

The moment Eridan was on his knees, the group began their barrage of heavy kicks, their attacks rained down all over his body in a cruel display of brutal maliciousness.

He had been unable to effectively fight off any of them, so the fact that he was lying against the cold tarmac of the pavement was an inevitability. It had been the only real outcome, but this knowledge didn't make it any easier. Eridan's head throbbed, and his vision swam; he had lost his glasses in the scuffle, so he couldn't even make sense of the blurry mess of the world around him. Not that it mattered much, seeing as it was getting harder to keep his eyes open, especially considering the fact that the world kept slipping into a muffled darkness. The way that the voices had begun fading away was almost relaxing, and Eridan thought that it almost felt as if he was melting into the ground.

Unfortunately, every time he felt himself being welcomed into the open-armed embrace of nothingness, the dull thump and blossoming, excruciating pain of a foot being slammed against his body would snatch him up, and wrench him away from the dark tranquility.

The worst thing was that he was completely helpless to stop it.

It felt like an eternity, but eventually Eridan felt his voice give out, and he was suddenly too tired to make any more noise, even though the pain threatened to force the whimpers from his throat. After Eridan had been silent for a minute or so, the attackers rooted through his pockets and pulled out his phone and wallet. As they ran off, there was a sickening moment where one of the men stepped on Eridan's fallen glasses, and Eridan heard a small click before the glasses shattered with a tinkling crunch.

Eridan didn't move. He stared out at the road with blank eyes. It was so tempting to allow that warm darkness to envelope him, as it whispered with words that dripped with honey and sweetness, promises of sleep and comfort. Eridan knew that if he allowed the sleep to overtake him, the pain would go, and he would feel better, it was just so tempting, especially seeing as he was in so much pain that breathing made his lungs feel as if they were filled with broken glass.

Time melted by, and Eridan pressed a hand against the pavement next to his head, pushing with all the strength he had left, in an attempt to get up. His fingers glanced against something warm and wet, but he couldn't register it. With a weariness that seemed to have taken root in his very muscles and bones, Eridan slowly sat up, then pushed himself to his feet; he clung to a wall for support, and he tried to force his feet to go where he actually wanted them to, but he was shaking so much that it was proving to be difficult.

Using the wall as a crutch, Eridan crept along. He could feel his body was trying to shut itself down, but he desperately forced it to keep going where he needed it to go, which at that precise moment, was wherever the hell a phonebox was.

Something wet was running from his nose, and down his chin, and Eridan found himself unable to give two flying fucks. He brought a hand up to his head, and felt that his hair was wet and matted with something sticky. Further prodding just caused him to blanch, and come very close to passing out, as a bolt of white-hot pain tore it's way through his body.

As he stumbled along, Eridan found it harder to focus, and the sounds of his own footsteps seemed to get further away; it echoed and grew fainter, and Eridan was reminded of walking alone through the halls of an quiet museum. Wistful memories tugged gently at Eridan's consciousness, and he found it so difficult to deny himself their sweet and welcoming embrace. His footsteps faltered, and he leant against the wall, surely it would be okay if he stopped for just a minute, just until he got his breath back, it would only be a minute.

Eridan groaned quietly as he wrenched himself away from the wall, and stumbled. He couldn't allow himself to stop, he had to keep going or it would have all been for nothing. He pushed forwards, because even in his confusion and darkness-addled mind, he knew he had to get help. He needed to get to a phone, or a hospital, or Sollux.

Oh God, Sollux. It was Sollux's turn to choose their date, what if he wanted to take him out? Eridan didn't dare look down at himself, he knew that he must look like absolute shit, and he felt so damned ashamed. Eridan began thinking of all the ways he could mask his wounds with makeup, because he didn't want Sollux to see him like this, he didn't want Sollux to see him after having the shit kicked out of him, he didn't want Sollux to feel as ashamed of him as he felt about himself.

There was no way that Sollux would want to dance with him now.

Eridan felt his stomach drop. He froze for a moment, and his eyes welled up. A swarm of hideous thoughts clawed their way into his mind, and he was helpless to stop it; every insecurity and fear he had reared their ugly heads, and screamed about how he already wasn't good enough for Sollux, and that the bruises, blood and swelling he was now covered in would help Sollux realise that for himself. His heart felt as though it was straining, and Eridan wiped a wet hand across his eyes, refusing to allow himself to cry. He just had to keep going. He knew Sollux loved him, and surely that wouldn't change. He just had to keep a level head, and find a fucking phonebooth.

He desperately looked around himself, but he couldn't make sense of anything; the world was dark, and blurry, and Eridan suddenly felt a little scared. This was not the time to fall victim to the fear though, and Eridan swallowed thickly before continuing his shuffling search; there _had_ to be a phonebox around here somewhere, it wasn't like they were _completely_ obsolete, was it?

It was getting harder and harder to move, and Eridan's already unfocused vision was darkening. He shook his head, and tried to make sense of everything, wishing that he hadn't drunk anything, or that he had just stayed home. He realised that he was on the outskirts of the town, and he tried to quicken his pace, afterall he knew there was at least one phonebox around here somewhere.

The closed shops and empty streets made it seem like a ghost town, and Eridan shivered against the cold. He brought his arms around himself in an attempt to warm himself up, but it only served to make him flinch and gasp; everywhere hurt, and just the action of holding himself was shockingly painful. Eridan cursed himself for holding his aesthetics over any kind of practicality, it was yet another way that his own vanity had once again fucked him over.

It appeared almost like a mirage; Eridan squinted at the small booth of light, and it beckoned him like an angel. He grinned with his relief, and tried to ignore how his lips peeled apart after a thick membrane had formed from the viscous liquid that had run down across them from his nose. Salvation was within walking distance, and Eridan felt like things would finally start looking up.

The phonebooth smelled of piss and cigarettes, but none of that meant anything as Eridan lifted the phone, and held it against his head. He needed to do this quickly, as he could feel himself fading already, he was just so tired. He narrowed his eyes at the numbered buttons, trying to see them properly, and lifted a hand.

The buttons were stiff and cold, and Eridan was almost surprised to see the smear of red that his fingertips left on them. He tried to wipe away the blood, but only managed to spread the mess around.

When the voice on the phone asked what Eridan's emergency was, he almost cried with happiness, he was finally going to get help, he was going to be okay, he was-

"Please help me, I..."

The phone slipped from Eridan's hand, and clattered against the booth, dangling from the it's metal extension. Eridan looked down at his own hand, confused, because it didn't make sense that he couldn't move it, and that he couldn't grip the phone.

He sagged against the wall of the booth, and slid down the glass until he landed on his ass. The exhaustion had taken it's toll on him quickly, and he could barely breathe. His head lolled forwards, and when Eridan coughed weakly, his lap was sprayed with maroon; a strand of red hung from Eridan's bottom lip, and as hard as he tried, he couldn't muster up enough energy to wipe it away.

"Please... Please help." Eridan's near-silent whispers dripped from his lips, tinged with blood and desperation. He tried to move himself closer to the dangling phone, but he failed miserably, and only succeeded in falling to the side, and banging his already bruised and battered head against the glass wall. This was it. He couldn't even bring himself to sit up, it was over.

The phonebooth was so cold, and everything was blurry and seemed so alien. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right; Eridan blinked away the tears as he thought about how unfair it was, how could Eridan fucking Ampora meet his end in a phonebooth that stank of piss, having been beaten up by a group of little shits? He had so much he wanted to do, he was so close to finishing college, he had only just started telling Sollux he loved him, he was going to show Sollux his work, he was going to teach Sollux to dance so that the nerd wouldn't just bob awkwardly to his favourite jazz songs, he was fucking _happy_ , so how the fuck could this happen to him? He just wanted to see Sollux again. He just wanted to go home.

It was so quiet. Eridan closed his eyes and blocked out the light that had seemed so beautiful only minutes ago. He was so cold, but his arms hung limply at his sides, and refused to wrap themselves around him.

The cold settled deep in his bones, and made his fingers ache. His whole existence at that moment in time was a mess of pain, exhaustion, cold, darkness, and the stench of copper and piss.

It was almost scary how quiet the world was.

Eridan felt his mind drifting off, but he knew that he should fight the sleep, and that he should try to stay awake, but it was useless. Unconsciousness welcomed him once more with tempting, gentle whispers, and warm touches; it wrapped itself around Eridan, and brought with it a deep darkness that promised to remove the pain and weariness. Eridan knew what else the unconsciousness would bring, and he knew he had to stay awake, he tried to focus on the pain, because even though it was agony, it was also the thing that was going to save him.

He sniffed wetly, and coughed once more, but he knew he couldn't fight it for much longer. This was it, the end.

He was afraid to die.

Eridan tilted his head, and pressed his face against the obviously filthy glass, his breathing had become so shallow that it barely even left a ghostly mist against it. His heartbeat had dissolved into a weak fluttering.

"Please..."

He was so scared, but he was so tired.

So fucking tired.


	40. Caramel Kisses

Sollux was a mess. There was no two ways about it, he was a royal fucking mess and he didn't know what he was supposed to do with himself.

He clutched a bouquet of flowers to his chest, and glanced over at Karkat, feeling nothing but gratitude that his best friend had been willing to drive him, because it would have been one hell of a long-ass walk.

The suit he was wearing was uncomfortable, but he didn't dare unbutton the shirt or cuffs, or even loosen the tie; everything had to be perfect because Eridan's family was going to be there, and appearances meant a lot to them. Sollux took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but it was getting difficult, because all he could smell was the nauseating stink of roses, daisies and lilies; it made his nose wrinkle, and his stomach churn.

Karkat didn't really speak much; which was strange because usually the shorter man would try and fill any silence with loud expletives, but instead, he seemed to be more focused on getting them both to their destination.

They had been driving for about half an hour when Karkat finally tried to speak.

"So," he began, uncertainty underlying every word that left his mouth, "are you okay? It's not a bad thing if you're not."

Sollux kept his eyes on the glass pane of the window in front of him, he focused his attention on the watermarks that had been left after the last time Karkat had washed the car; those pale greyish streaks were barely visible, but they were subject to all of Sollux's frustrations and scrutiny. He could barely even see or hear the world on the outside of the car as it rushed past, he was just so intent on criticising his short friend's poor attempt at window cleaning inside his head.

"Sollux?"

Karkat's words had finally gotten through to him, and Sollux blinked and turned to look at his best friend, "what?" This wasn't as much a question as it was his way of showing Karkat that he had heard him, and was acknowledging that he wanted to talk.

"Well for one thing I asked if you're okay, and if you needed anything." Karkat didn't allow his eyes to stray from the road, but he reached a hand across and gave Sollux's shoulder a brief pat, "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but... It'll be okay."

Sollux kept his eyes on those damn streaks, and didn't respond. He knew what Karkat was going to say because it would be the same shit that everyone said in these kinds of situations, and none of it would make him actually feel better. So he stayed quiet.

The rest of the trip was filled with a heavy, awkward silence, and it wasn't until they reached the carpark that Karkat spoke again.

"Look, I know you wanted to turn up with the flowers and everything, but you can't bring them in, okay? Too many contaminants and shit like that, it's something we have to tell everyone who comes by with them... TV just seems to make everyone think that it's romantic and shit, but it's dangerous, you know? Especially with open wounds. But feel free to bring the chocolates." He turned to Sollux, and his eyes were filled with a bittersweet sympathy that made the Gemini frown, "I'm here for you, Sollux."

"Okay." Was all Sollux could say before he opened the passenger door and got out of the car, leaving the large bouquet of flowers in his seat.

Karkat stayed by his side as they walked through the large front doors. The smell of bleach and cleaning liquids washed over Sollux the second he stepped over the threshold, and he paled a little. He could only relate that stale, clinical stench with accidents, and death, and the squealing of metal, and rag-doll brothers, and flashing lights, and dull blue eyes and the deepest reds, and oh God, he needed to get out of here, this wasn't-

"Sollux, come on, you can do this." Karkat held his arm in a surprisingly firm grip, and Sollux nodded, allowing the shorter man to lead him along.

After they had been walking for few minutes, Sollux dragged his eyes up from the floor in time to see Feferi sprinting towards him. He barely had enough time to bring his free arm up in an attempt to catch her before she barreled into him, "Sollux!" She pressed her face into his chest, and sobbed. When she peeked up at him, her eyes were pink and puffy, and she looked as though she'd been crying for hours.

Sollux stroked her hair, in what he hoped was a comforting way, but failed to find any words. He looked over at the rest of the group that was waiting in the corridor outside the room; Cronus was sat on a chair with his head in his hands, his hair was a mess and lacking the usual thick layer of products. Sollux noticed two women he had never spoken to before, and rationalised that they must have been Feferi's mother and sister. They both had waist-length hair, but the younger one had hers tied in two braids, while the older woman wore hers loose. Both women were very beautiful, but they lacked Feferi's softness.

Feferi's sister looked over at Sollux and raised a perfectly-plucked eyebrow, "who's the guppy?" She asked.

Before Sollux could even open his mouth, Cronus looked up from his hands, "huh? Oh, hey chief. Meenah, that's Sollux, Eridan's guy. If you'd been there for the family meal, you would've met him sooner." He wiped a hand over his mouth, and glanced at the large, flat box tucked under Sollux's arm, "fuck, kitten, he'll be pretty pleased with those." He offered Sollux a brief smile before turning his attention to the door in front of him. There was a weariness behind his sharp, blue eyes, and it didn't go unnoticed.

Meenah looked Sollux up and down and shrugged in a greeting, but she seemed much more interested in the business call her mother was currently involved in. Sollux frowned, and felt himself bristle slightly; considering the state Eridan was in, this was hardly the time to be fucking around trying to make money. He opened his mouth to say something, but he froze as Oscar appeared in the doorway to the previously sealed room.

Oscar looked over the group with a stern expression, and allowed his eyes to come to a rest on Sollux, who was still awkwardly patting Feferi's head. His voice was calm when he spoke, "good to see you, Sollux. We've all been in, an I'm sure he'd want to see you next." He opened the door for Sollux, and Feferi finally released her python-like grip on him.

Once the door was open, Sollux's feet suddenly felt as if they were stuck in place; he couldn't help but remember how Mituna had looked all those years ago, and he was scared to see Eridan in the same state. He had the sudden urge to leave, and was caught in the crossfires of feeling both guilty and fucking terrified. Unfortunately, he wasn't given the chance to turn and run, as Karkat took it upon himself to push him towards the door.

The room had a mottled blue floor and very pale lilac walls, and Sollux heard the door click shut behind him. He focused on the strangely-shaped medical drawers and the wall-mounted television. Everything in the room was so pale, and clean, and blank, and Sollux tried to ignore the sharp smell of disinfectant that made the back of his throat itch.

Part of him wanted to pretend like nothing had happened, so he made his way over to the bedside chair, and set the box of chocolates down before sitting himself on the edge, "hey, ED."

Eridan shifted the sheet a little; he had been holding it up in front of himself to hide from view, and was now peeking at Sollux from a lowered corner, "hi, Sol."

Sollux felt a surge of emotions all at once; he wanted to wrench the sheet down and see Eridan, but at the same time, he just wanted to hide away himself, and pretend that nothing had ever happened. Silence descended between them, and on any other day, Sollux would have slapped Eridan for being so dramatic and hiding, but now it almost scared him.

"Put the sheet down, you idiot. It'th not like you can hide forever, tho you may ath well show me how you look now." Sollux kept his hands clasped on his lap, refusing to allow himself to grab the sheet. This was something Eridan had to do in his own time.

There was a little hesitation before Eridan spoke, and his voice was quiet and doubtful, "but... I haven't done my hair."

Sollux snorted loudly, and couldn't hold back the laughter. The fact that Eridan had been in a fight and was worrying about the state of his hair had to be a good sign, but it didn't make it any less funny, "thorry, you're worried about your _hair_? Are you being _theriouth_?"

There was a short huff noise behind the sheet, "Sol, I actually have to work at makin' myself look good. You wouldn't a fallen for me if all I did was roll out a bed an went about my day, now would you? I've _got_ to make an effort."

"I would love you even if you wath _bald_ , you tit!" Sollux laughed as he spoke, but his words suddenly caught in his throat, and his blood ran cold.

Eridan had thrown his arms down in frustration, and pouted at Sollux. This meant that he had dropped the makeshift blanket-shield that had kept him hidden, and that he was now in full view, "you're a dick, Sollux Captor, here I am worryin' about always lookin' my best for you, an you're _laughin_ '! Well, thank you very much, you complete... What?"

The hipster looked so tiny in his oversized blue sleepshirt, and Sollux found himself staring as the thinly veiled chest rose and fell methodically. Eridan's arms were mottled with purplish-red bruises, and the same pigmentation surrounded his left eye, and ran down across his cheek. His bottom lip was split, and there was blood crusted around his nostrils.

Sollux felt bile rise up at the back of his throat, and he swallowed quickly. His mind reached out and clutched at words, but none of them seemed good enough; he desperately wanted to comfort his boyfriend with a never-before-seen mastery of the spoken language, and an unforeseen eloquence, but he couldn't even form a sentence made up of single syllables. Nothing seemed good enough.

It wasn't until the room went a little blurry that Sollux realised that he was on the verge of tears. He hadn't seen Eridan looking this worse-for-wear since they had been in high school, and Sollux remembered that he only used to find himself so uncaring because he thought that Eridan liked seeing the nerd in the same kind of state. It had always been a case of both boys being as bad as the other, and they both hit as hard as they got, but that was in the past, and Eridan wasn't allowed to get hurt like that anymore, no one was allowed to touch him or make him sad or-

"Sollux?" Eridan's voice was soft, and he reached a hand closer, beckoning the Gemini to come to his side.

The sound of Eridan's voice helped Sollux regain at least some of his composure, and he stepped forwards, placing his hand in Eridan's grip as he did. Their fingers laced together, and Sollux gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed.

Eridan smiled a little and tilted his head, "are you alright?"

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?" Sollux couldn't help himself, he didn't mean to, but he snapped, "why the fuck are you athking _me_ if _I'm_ alright? _You're_ the one who'th had the shit kicked out of you!"

They both sat staring at eachother, and Sollux found himself unable to hold the cool, blue gaze that was directed at him. He shifted a little, and turned away awkwardly, "thorry, I shouldn't have shouted. I jutht hate theeing you like thith, ED." He squeezed his boyfriend's hand, and tried to come up with a million ways to apologise, "I... I thpent ageth looking for you. After I heard your methage, I mean. I ran outthide, and jutht fucking thprinted around like an idiot looking for you."

This was true. The second Karkat had told Sollux that Eridan's phone had suddenly been turned off, the Gemini had run outside wearing nothing but a shirt and a pair of boxers, fully intent on finding his missing boyfriend. Of course he had been caught five minutes later by a disgruntled-looking Karkat, who was red-faced and thankfully brandishing a pair of jeans, and mismatched converse. Together they had searched the town, frantically questioning anyone who may have happened to walk past a certain violet-haired hipster.

Though it had felt like hours and hours, they had actually only spent about an hour searching before Sollux got a call on his mobile from Feferi. Of course, contacting Eridan's family had been something that they had both tried to do, but until that point, Feferi hadn't picked up. This lack of communication hadn't helped as they were both riding the high of absolute panic, but the second her number came up, they both felt like screaming with relief.

Thankfully, Feferi had been able to tell them where Eridan was, and fill them in on what had happened in the early hours of the morning.

Eridan had made his way to a phonebooth, but had passed out. Fortunately, he had managed to get through to the emergency services before collapsing, and the operator had sent someone out to the location of the phonecall as a precaution.

What could have happened if no one had been sent out to him didn't need thinking about, and Sollux stared at the floor, trying to fill his head with anything else.

"I know." Eridan nodded and turned his attention towards smoothing out the wrinkles in the bed covers, "look, I've spoken to the police, an the doctors are sayin' that I'm not in such a bad shape that I'd need to stay in here too long, so it's not that bad, okay?" He tried to inject as much positivity into his voice as possible, but from the way Sollux was glowering, he guessed that it wasn't really working.

"If I ever find out who did thith to you, I'll kill them." He turned his mismatched eyes to Eridan, and there was a cold harshness to them that made the Gemini look truly threatening.

Eridan didn't doubt the sincerity of the threat, so he smiled faintly, and pressed his lips against Sollux's, ignoring the pain that shot through his cut in favour of reassuring his boyfriend.

Sollux brought Eridan's hands up to his lips, and pressed kisses against them. He tried very hard to hold back, but he wanted to smother the Aquarius with affection and never let go, but he knew that he must have actually been in a lot of pain, even if he didn't show it.

Damn stubborn hipster.

Eridan didn't even scold Sollux when the nerd brought his shoes up onto the bed as they laid down next to eachother. It would have been a nice moment, but Eridan was unable to hold back the gasp as Sollux tried to pull him close, "fuck!" He hissed.

Sollux leant back, and saw that Eridan's face was scrunched up in agony. He frowned and stroked a thumb across Eridan's unbruised cheek, "thorry, what did I do?"

After a brief hesitation, Eridan moved a hand to his chest, and sheepishly pulled his loose sleepshirt down to reveal the top of a hideously purple bruise. Sollux's hands shook as he lifted Eridan's shirt up towards his throat to see the full extent of the bruising; Eridan's entire chest was a blotchy mess of maroon and plum, and the colouring ran all over his ribcage, outlining each rib like a grotesque shadow.

They both stayed silent as they lay together, and Sollux was at a complete loss for words. He wanted to ask about everything that had happened to his boyfriend, but this was because he wanted to somehow share the emotional load, and take some of the weight off Eridan's shoulders, rather than being morbidly curious. After a couple of minutes of silence, Sollux gently tugged the shirt back down into place, and pressed his forehead against Eridan's, "I love you." He murmured.

Eridan nodded, "I love you too, you fuckin' nerd."

Sollux sat up and turned, he grabbed the box of chocolates off the chair and set it on his lap, smiling as Eridan shifted himself into a sitting position with a grunt. "Gueth who bought the biggetht boxth of chocolateth Thortonth had to offer?"

"Well considerin' this box is nearly as big as me, I'm guessin' it was you." Eridan didn't even attempt to hide the happy glint in his eyes as he watched Sollux untie the ribbon and pick the sticky tabs off. "Shit, now comes the hard part, you an me have gotta fight for the good ones, an I warn you, I'm not above usin' the fact that I'm in pain to get what I want." The moment the lid was open, Eridan plucked the tiny chocolate-flavour guide out of the box and began scouring it for the best flavours.

Sollux rolled his eyes and leant close to read the guide, "whatever, I'm not above punching you to get what _I_ want, and I want the caramelth."

"Ugh, you can have them, I'm not keen on them anyway, but I'm havin' all the pralines an nut ones. But seriously, Sol, you can't go askin' for any a mine in a few minutes, because I save the best ones 'till last." Eridan pointed at a chocolate that had a dusting of powdered sugar on top, "an I'll slap you if you so much as _look_ at that one."

It was incredibly tempting to grab the little 'Alpini' chocolate that Eridan had pointed out, and eat it, but Sollux scolded himself because he had to be nice to his boyfriend because he was injured, "duly noted, ED, I'll be a good boy. Why don't you ration out the oneth you want me to have then?" He resisted the urge to nudge Eridan's chest playfully, because the bruises were so extreme that it looked as though the hipster might pass out, or throw up, if they were so much as touched.

Eridan frowned and quickly began separating the chocolates; rearranging their order so that they wouldn't eat the wrong ones. He was very methodical and it only took him a minute to do, "right, I've given you the caramels, toffees, white chocolates, an the fruit fondant ones... Whereas I get the _good_ ones, I got the pralines, nuts, coffees, truffles an dark chocolates." He picked up a coffee chocolate and popped it in his mouth with a little _'mmm'_.

"Funnily enough, you've given me all the oneth I like betht anyway, ED. Thee? I knew there wath a reathon I love you tho much." Sollux quickly found the nicest of the caramels and ate it happily. He didn't even mind the lecture Eridan gave him about how he should always save the best flavours until last, and that having an order was at the heart of any and all enjoyment.

It was a nice distraction for them both, and after a little while, Eridan didn't even feel self conscious about the state of his face; he was just happy to be with Sollux. "So I figure I'll have at least a week off work, seein' as I can't turn up lookin' like this." He smiled, popping a hazelnut chocolate in his mouth, "but I still have to go to college to perfect my presentation of my final project... Thank fuck I finished it early, because I don't think I'll be able to draw for a little while."

Sollux looked down as Eridan leant his head against his shoulder, "you're a bit of a jammy git really, aren't you?" He smiled and stroked a violet curl away from his forehead, "tho when are you getting out?"

"Today, thankfully they don't need to keep me in for my fractured ribs, but it's going to be a pain in the ass to keep up my usual routines." Eridan pouted and pulled at the loose-fitting shirt he was wearing, "I can't even do my hair properly because a the gash on my head. That shit's goin' to leave a fuckin' hideous scar, it's not fair."

"Well, think of it thith way, now you have a thcar jutht like your dad and Cronuth," Sollux ate another caramel, and picked up a strawberry creme, "bethideth, you can cover it with your hair, I can't even thee it at the moment." This was true, Eridan's hair covered the wound nicely, and it thankfully wasn't large enough to warrant stitches, so Sollux was a little hopeful about the fact that it would only leave a tiny scar, and that Eridan was worrying over nothing.

After throwing the little paper chocolate-guide at Sollux's head, Eridan pouted and narrowed his eyes, "I don't _want_ scars like Father an Cro, you dickhead."

Just as Sollux was about to retort, the door opened, and Oscar stepped into the room, closely followed by a doctor. Eridan looked between them, "what's up?" He asked.

Oscar glanced at Sollux, and moved out of the way of the door, "mind givin' us a minute, lad?"

Though it sounded like a question, Sollux knew it was more of a polite command than a request. He nodded and gave Eridan's hand one last squeeze, "I'll be in the waiting room, okay? I'll thee you in a bit." He got up and made his way over to the door, throwing one last glance back at Eridan before leaving.

It felt so good to know that Eridan was okay, and Sollux returned to Karkat's side feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Eridan was alive, and despite the fact he was a little worse for wear, he was going to be okay, because the wounds were superficial, and they would eventually heal.

Everything was good, and everything was going to be okay.


	41. Coming Home

There had been an argument between Oscar and Eridan in the hospital room, and from what everyone could hear from the hallway, it had been about where Eridan was going to stay to recuperate. Oscar had wanted Eridan to return to the family mansion, where he would receive _'the best care money could buy, and not have to lift a finger'_ , but Eridan just wanted to go back to his own home. Sollux quickly discovered where Eridan got his stubbornness from, because the argument became quite heated, and insults were thrown around left, right, and centre.

Sollux wasn't surprised when he overheard Eridan start using a guilt trip as a way of getting his own way, and he hoped that the hipster would never resort to using those kinds of tactics against him, because he didn't think that he would have half a chance in hell in denying him anything if he did.

Eventually, Oscar emerged from the room with a scowl plastered on his face; Sollux peered behind him to see Eridan smirking in the smuggest fashion he had ever seen, but the expression vanished when Oscar turned to Sollux and said, "can I have a moment a yer time, lad?"

Once again, this was far from a request, and was most definitely a polite way of saying _'we're about to have a nice chat, which may or may not involve you being reduced to tears.'_

With dread washing over him, Sollux stood up, and made brief eye contact with Eridan before following Oscar as he strode down the white hallway. Sollux wrung his hands as they walked away from the crowd, thinking that maybe the Ampora man blamed him for not being there to protect his precious son, but then again, what would Sollux have been able to do in that situation? His arms were made of limp noodles, and he was too skinny to be used as any kind of shield, despite this, Sollux knew deep down that he would not have hesitated to jump in the way and take the beating on behalf of Eridan.

Then again, he knew that he was such a sassy piece of shit, he probably would have said something to invoke the attacker's wrath, and they would have very likely left Eridan alone in favour of kicking his head in, instead.

When they had gotten far enough away from the family, Oscar finally stopped and turned to look at Sollux. The Gemini tried his best not to shrink back, but his mind was being filled with shitty voices telling him that this was all his fault, and that the Ampora father was going to kick his ass right here and now.

Sollux just thanked his lucky stars that they were already in a hospital.

"Lad, I want to ask a favour." Oscar folded his arms and continued to regard Sollux with an expression that the nerd couldn't really read.

"Yeah, sure, anything." Sollux replied, trying to sound casual, and not at all like he might piss himself with fear at any moment.

Oscar nodded in a way that made it look as if he didn't expect any other answer, "look, my boy's in a rough way, an he's insistin' on goin' back to his instead a comin' back with me an the rest a his family," he looked a little bitter as he spoke, "an he doesn't want anyone stayin' with him to care for anythin', the stubborn shit."

Sollux tried not to smile as he watched Eridan's dad being so worried, it was nice to see that even through his gruff demeanour, he really was a father who gave a shit.

"But, I'm pretty sure that he'll want _you_ to stay with him, so this is what I'd appreciate you doin' for me," Oscar frowned slightly, and Sollux knew that they both understood that Sollux would have no way of denying his wishes, "I want you to do what he's not lettin' me do. Watch over him, cook for him, make sure he's eatin', an make sure he gets better. Do you understand?"

The worry and anxiety that had been building up inside the Gemini was suddenly halted, and his mind whirred. This wasn't what he had been expecting at all, in all honesty he was dreading to hear Oscar asking him to leave his son alone so that Eridan would have no choice but to come back to his parent's house. He grinned crookedly, feeling incredibly relieved, "yeah, I mean I'm not much of a chef, but I'll get the time off work, and look after him, and all that. He'll be back to normal in no time." Sollux felt like a complete tool for talking like this, but his mind was swimming on cloud nine at that moment, and hardly cared.

"Swear to me, lad." Oscar leant a little closer, and suddenly seemed much more intimidating, and so much bigger, "swear to me that you'll be there for my boy."

Seeing Oscar with that kind of expression ripped Sollux's mind off cloud nine, and made his insides suddenly feel very cold. He nodded numbly, and the smile melted from his face, "I thwear I'll be there for him. I'd do anything for him." Sollux prayed to everything he could think of that Oscar hadn't caught his lisp.

The broad man straightened up, and nodded as he readjusted his own tie and cuffs, "good. You know I meant what I said when you an Eridan came round for dinner," Oscar held his arms behind his back and allowed his eyes to graze over a health poster on the wall, "he really _is_ the apple a my eye, an he's the one who'll be inheritin' the business. Cronus won't exactly be left high an dry, but he won't be runnin' my legacy into the ground, you know?"

Sollux nodded to show that he was listening, but kept quiet. He didn't know whether or not Eridan knew this, or even if the hipster would actually accept that kind of responsibility.

"I know Eridan is younger than Cronus, an my boys might squabble over birthrights, but he has an incredible brain in that prissy head a his. I know that he's young an likely workin' through some kind a phase, but I really wish that he would stop with all the accessorisin' an just dress smartly," Oscar turned to regard Sollux again, "you should really try an get him to stop actin' so bloody over-dramatic, I mean the boy's fuckin' awful sometimes, an don't get me started on the arrogance a him, sometimes you'd think _he_ was the head a the family with the way he goes on." There was a slight warmth in the way Oscar's lips twitched upwards, and creases appeared at the corners of his eyes.

It was only the fact that Oscar didn't look as though he was trying to be completely malicious with his words that stopped Sollux from saying anything, if he thought that Oscar was trying to be a dick, he would have likely said something that would have gotten him banned from seeing Eridan. Or at least, that's what he thought, anyway.

When Sollux simply nodded again, Oscar continued, "both a my boys are childish as hell, an they seriously need to start gettin' their lives together an stop chasin' these pipedreams a theirs. Especially Eridan, because when I'm gone, that's it, there won't be any more time to fuck around an doodle, he'll be workin' a real job." Oscar turned, and began walking back down the hallway in the direction of Eridan's room, "I guess what I'm tryin' to say is that I wish he was a little less like himself, and a little more serious."

Sollux stood in stunned silence. He desperately wanted to tell Oscar to go fuck himself, and that Eridan was absolutely brilliant just being himself, but he was so scared that the Ampora man would force Eridan to terminate their relationship that his lips remained sealed. It took a lot of tongue biting before Sollux could bring himself to follow Oscar back to the room, and once they got there, Eridan was already stood outside the door wearing a violet sweater and black jeans, and receiving an earful from Feferi.

"Erifin, I know you want to go back, but I would've been more than happy to look after you! Plus think of all the amazing dinners you could have had if you came home!" She pouted, resting her hands on her hips. Once Sollux approached, she turned her attention to him instead, "Sollux Captor, tell my idiot brother to get his ass home, and that he would have more fun with me watching films and eating jelly and ice-cream, instead of having you burn the house down trying to make toast!"

"Whoa, FF, I can make toatht," Sollux grinned at Feferi's adorably pursed lips, and puffed out cheeks, "he jutht hath to watch out for when I try to make thoup."

Karkat twirled his keys around a finger as he got up from a nearby plastic chair to join them, "we lost one of our pans last time he tried... I still can't look at a tin of chicken soup without getting flashbacks." He ignored everyone in favour of observing Eridan's face, making a mental note of what looked the worst, "right, Eridan, where do you want to go? Don't let any other fucker try and tell you where you'll feel more comfortable, it's all about you, alright? But hurry up, because I'm not wasting my entire day standing here playing with my ass."

Though Karkat's words seemed a little coarse, Eridan's lips curved upwards slightly; in the shorter man's own way, he really was showing that he was concerned about his wellbeing, and Eridan appreciated that, "I want to go home. _My_ home." He added, before Feferi could say anything.

This caused Feferi's pout to worsen, but she nodded, "fin. But don't come crying to me when you're eating the worst carp you've ever tasted in your life." She gave Eridan's hand a soft squeeze and glanced upwards, her features etched with concern, "please take care, and call me the second you're not shore if you're ocray. Sollux, you had batter be nice to him!"

"Yeth, I know, I've already had ED'th dad telling me that I have to look after hith little printheth, I'm on it, I promithe." Sollux waved at Feferi as she hesitantly ran off down the corridor after her mother and sister. Sollux was about to say something else, but he closed his mouth as Cronus and Oscar stopped questioning the poor doctor, and came to Eridan's side.

Cronus lifted a hand to mess up Eridan's already untidy hair, but hesitated, then returned his hand to his own pocket, "don't look so blue, you've had worse, and this shit heals, doesn't it?" He nodded to himself, and his thick eyebrows furrowed, "take care of yourself, chief. We're only a phonecall away."

Eridan nodded in response, but was cut off by Oscar, "now lad, I'm entrustin' you to the care a Sollux, so do what he says an don't fuck around. I expect you to be better soon, an then no more a this nonsense. We'll all come by for a visit as soon as you're ready for guests, alright?" Oscar rested a hand on Eridan's head and gave him a slightly affectionate pat, before leaving with Cronus, who turned back to shoot Eridan one last glance.

As soon as Eridan's family were out of sight, the hipster let out a loud sigh, "fuckin' hell, an everyone calls _me_ dramatic! I mean you would a thought that I had some atrocious wounds the way they were all goin' on. Though I'm pretty fuckin upset that I got so much shit wrong with my face, this is goin' to take so much time an energy to sort out an correct with makeup, you know?"

Sollux slapped his arm, and ignored Eridan's wince, "don't be a shit, we're all worried about you, and for the record I thought you wath dead for a while thith morning. Now come on, let'th get you home."

Eridan began fiddling with the bottom of his sweater as they began making their way through the hospital, "sorry. I didn't think." He mumbled, feeling a bit like a dickhead.

"Don't apologithe, ED. Fuck, you're hurt, you don't need to apologithe, jutht... I don't know, okay?" Sollux shrugged and took hold of Eridan's hand as gently as he could; he focused on how warm his hand felt, and reminded himself that Eridan was still alive, because there was a horrible itching feeling at the back of his head that made him think that he could wake up at any moment.

Karkat lead the way through the building, and soon, they were outside in the carpark, trying to locate the right car. Once they had found it, and were all safely buckled in, Karkat began driving, "so, Eridan, how in the hell did you ever convince your dad to let you stay at yours? I remember him being a controlling fuck-stain back when we were kids."

"Oh my God, Kar, you have no idea, didn't you hear us both screamin'? We were at eachother's throats at one point, but I made him see sense that I'm not a kid anymore, an he can't always get his own way. Besides, I told him I wouldn't have eaten anythin' his staff cooked me if he dragged me home against my will." Eridan smirked, looking smug once again.

"Jesus tittyfucking Christ, Eridan, you're a childish fucker, aren't you?" Karkat glanced up into the rear-view mirror to look at Eridan, and grinned, "well if that's the shit you have to pull to get him to listen, then whatever, do your worst, you know? As long as you don't mind eating burnt cheese on toast from this asshole."

Sollux perked up and tried his best to look offended, "exthcuthe you, Karkat, but I think I can keep my boyfriend fed, alright?" He reached across and gave Eridan's knee a soft pat, "he will eat like a king, conthidering I have tho many fatht food platheth on thpeed dial." He snickered to himself as Eridan rolled his eyes.

They reached Eridan's house in about half an hour, and Karkat waited until Eridan and Sollux had reached the front door before calling out a brief _'get well soon'_ , and driving away.

Once they had both gotten inside, Eridan completed his usual door lock and check, and rolled his eyes as Sollux insisted on making the hipster hold his arm as they walked up the stairs, "I'm not a fuckin' invalid, Sol. Fuckin' hell, I _can_ walk up my own stairs by myself, I mean, you _do_ realise that I am in fact a big boy, don't you?" He begrudgingly linked arms with Sollux, and allowed the nerd to make him walk slowly, but only because he was feeling pretty tired at that point.

Sollux ended up helping Eridan into bed, and propped him up on a ridiculous amount of fluffy, white and purple pillows, "comfy, ED? Can I get you anything?"

"I wouldn't say no to a cup a tea, Sol. Check the top cupboard, I should have some Earl Grey somewhere." Eridan rubbed his bruised eyes, and smiled a little as Sollux sped out of the room to get him his drink. After wriggling out of his jeans and sweater, he snuggled down against his pillows, and brought his quilt up to his face; it felt good to be in his own bed, and even if he _was_ feeling an awful amount of aches and pains all over his body, he still felt happy that he was home.

About five minutes later, Sollux came back upstairs with a large, steaming mug, "ED, thith tea thmellth like shit, and I don't know whether to put milk or cream in it, or leave it ath it ith, tho what do I do?" He stepped into the room, and saw Eridan cocooned in his quilt, snoring peacefully. Sollux set the mug down on the bedside table, and pulled Eridan's glasses from his face; he hesitated as he looked at his boyfriend.

Eridan looked so _wrong_. He was supposed to have flawless skin, and wide, gorgeous eyes, and soft pink lips... But instead, he looked... _Damaged_ , and a little frail.

Sollux's teeth poked out over his bottom lip, and he put the glasses down next to the mug before pulling off his jeans and crawling carefully into the bed. He felt so guilty for not protecting him, or being there for him, and it felt like all the wounds were his fault. After stroking Eridan's hair out of the way, he peered at the cut that peeked out from the hipster's hairline. It would definitely scar, but at least it would be mostly hidden, not that it bothered Sollux in the slightest, but he knew that it was something that Eridan would very likely get upset about.

After a few minutes of debating in his head whether or not to order some food, Sollux decided against it; his stomach was still knotted, so he didn't really feel like eating. Instead, he opted for staying in bed with Eridan, and making sure he was safe.

With a million and one thoughts floating around his head, Sollux tried to make a plan of action for the next day. He wanted to make sure that they had a date day, because even though it would be Saturday, the hipster deserved something nice to wake up to. It was with a resigned sigh that Sollux came up with the perfect date plan.

-.-.-.-.-

It was bright when Eridan woke up, and he realised that it was already Saturday.

He rolled over, hoping to bump into the skinny nerd and steal his body heat, but when he reached his arms out, he found the bed to be empty. He checked his wall-clock, and saw that it was coming up to lunch time, which meant that he had been sleeping for roughly seventeen hours. This made sense considering the fact that he hadn't really slept properly in days.

"Sol?" Eridan sat up, and saw that the Gemini was definitely not sleeping by his side; his eyes flicked towards the bathroom, but the door was open, so Sollux couldn't be using the toilet. He groaned a little as he got off the bed, put his glasses on, and stood up, cursing his bruises and wounds.

The house just seemed too quiet, and as Eridan left the bedroom, he was very aware of how it seemed to lack any kind of sound that would indicate someone else being there. Despite the fact that his stomach was starting to churn with worry, Eridan tried to stay positive, "Sol? Wwhere are you?" He called out, but once again did not receive any kind of response.

The hope that he would find Sollux rotted in the pit of his knotted stomach as he searched every room. Eridan made a tiny noise in the back of his throat, partially in annoyance, and partly in anxiety as he stood in his hallway. It was now obvious that the nerd was most definitely not in the house, and now the paranoid little voices that dwelled in his head began cackling; they gleefully reminded him that his wounds had made him hideous, and that no one would find him attractive, so _of course_ Sollux had left.

Through the deafening silence of the house, and sudden feeling of loneliness and abandonment, a string of thoughts whispered in the deepest corner of Eridan's mind. Even though the thought only ghosted through his consciousness for the briefest second, and was so much more unobtrusive than the others, it stood out and forced Eridan to listen. _'What if Sollux went out and got hurt, just like you did? What if they found Sollux too, and he's bleeding in the streets? What if he couldn't find a phonebox? What if he's passed out? What if he's dea-'_

"No!" Eridan couldn't help but shout out. There was no way that this fucked up thought could possibly be true, and he wouldn't even give it a second thought, there was no way that Sollux would leave him, and there was no way that anything bad would happen to him either. It was all in his head, it was bee ess, it was bullshit, it was poppycock. Yes, _poppycock_ was exactly the word Eridan would use if anyone were to ask.

Fucking poppycock.

But... Even though the thought really didn't bother Eridan, because it was most definitely the most ridiculous and pathetic shit he had even heard in his life, Eridan decided that he would just have a little look outside... Maybe he would just check the street, or just the outskirts of town.

Eridan wrung his hands together nervously as he shuffled to the front door, and he slipped his feet into into a pair of sleek, black shoes. He tried to ignore the way that the thought, and the worry that he was trying to deny, was festering inside his brain and gut, but it was making his mind feel as if it was full of thick, viscous tar.

Sollux was gone, and he didn't even leave a note; Eridan felt nothing but annoyance at the fact that his mobile had been stolen, which was just the worst possible timing, and-

Something was different. Eridan looked at the door with narrowed eyes; the keys weren't in the key-hole, they were on the doormat. That was most certainly _not_ where Eridan had left them, and that didn't make any sense at all, because why would he ever leave them on the _floor_? Eridan bent down and picked up the cluster of keys, then hesitantly unlocked the door.

As the door opened, Eridan nearly stormed right into a person.

"SOL?"

Sollux looked up from his DS, "finally! I've been waiting for fucking ageth." He was sat on the doorstep, with a bag of shopping next to him, looking quite content in the sunshine. There was a second before he started laughing hysterically, much to the annoyance of Eridan.

"What the _fuck_ are you laughin' at, you complete bastard!" Eridan huffed, "I'll have you know that I have been fuckin' worried about you, an I was settin' out to come an look for your beaten ass, an now you're laughin' at me? You little shit, what could possibly be humorous in this situation?"

"The fact that you wath about to leave the houthe in a pair of boxtherth, a shirt, and a pair of your nithetht shoeth." Sollux beamed and wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, still snickering quietly, "I thought you never left the houthe without doing thomething with your hair?"

Eridan blinked, and looked down at himself, and finally realised that he really _was_ only wearing boxers, a shirt, and his suit shoes. He looked a fucking mess, and didn't doubt that if Kanaya saw him now, she would have probably set him on fire or something. He turned a bright shade of red and folded his arms, "wwell, a course I was willin' to leave the house lookin' like this, I mean, time was of the essence wasn't it? An I didn't want to waste any time gettin' myself lookin' my usual best when you could a been bleedin' out somewhere." He pouted a little and turned away, storming back into the house, mostly to get himself out of the sight of any neighbours that would have been unfortunate enough to look outside and see him.

There was only the slightest hesitation before Sollux stood up and grabbed the shopping bag; he followed Eridan and closed the door behind them, and smiled, "thorry, I didn't mean to laugh." He apologised, reaching up his free hand forwards to gently grab his boyfriend's hand, "tho you wath really going to go _outthide_ wearing that, and not even do your hair?" Sollux tried his best to keep the humour out of his voice, because even though he found the sight of the hipster looking like an idiot hilarious, it really was an incredible gesture.

"No fuckin' doubt, Sol. You're more important than any a that shit, you know?" Eridan shrugged and looked away. Truth be told, he had been so worried about Sollux that he hadn't even realised how awful he looked.

Sollux grinned crookedly and shook the bag in his hand, "well then, let'th crack thith shit open, and you can have a laugh at how fucking thtupid I'm about to look, okay? Think of it ath an eye for an eye, I laughed at you, and now you get a free path to take the complete pith out of me."

Eridan let go of Sollux's hand in favour of locking and checking the door, before speaking, "what is that supposed to mean? What's in the bag?"

"Not only my faith in humanity, but altho my manhood and my fucking fatht approaching humiliation, ED." Sollux opened the bag to glare at the contents with open contempt, "I know you wanted to have a thpa day, but we can't exthactly go with you looking like that, tho I brought the thpa to uth. You're welcome."

-.-.-

Eridan snorted as he rubbed a thick, mintish-green coloured liquid onto Sollux's face. The Gemini had looked mortified when Eridan had gotten a couple of elasticated headbands from his bathroom to _'tie our hair back so none a the face mask gets in it'_ , but like the dutiful boyfriend he was, he had sat still and allowed Eridan to make him look like a prat.

Once the hipster had begrudgingly gotten over the initial annoyance and forgiven Sollux for laughing in his face, he had been told that Sollux had called into work and pulled some strings with a couple of work colleagues, and gotten someone to cover his shift. This had actually cost him his Wednesday, but Sollux didn't really mind. Once he had secured the day off, he decided to go to the shops to get Eridan a treat; he let himself out, and locked the door, then posted the keys through the letterbox so that Eridan wouldn't be trapped in the house. Unfortunately, he didn't really think this through, because he had no way of getting back into the house, so he had no choice but to sit down on the steps outside and wait for Eridan to wake up.

Sollux grimaced as he looked at his reflection, "I look like the shittetht fucking Hulk cothplayer in the world." He grumbled, resisting the urge to itch his nose.

"Sol, it's so good for your pores though, you don't even know how amazin' you're goin' to look. Your skin'll be _glowin'_." Eridan opened a new facepack, and double-checked that his hair was definitely out of the way.

"Funnily enough, ED, I don't want my fathe to glow. In fact, I don't think I've ever wanted my fathe to glow, unleth you count the time when I wath five, and I wath obthethed with thothe glowin thtarth you thtick on the wallth. I'm pretty sure Dad nearly shit himthelf when he found me and Tuna breaking open glowthtickth, and rubbing them over ourthelveth." Sollux snickered at the memory, and shook his head. He took the pack that Eridan was offering him, and dipped his fingers inside, then rubbed the green goo over Eridan's face. He was very careful to avoid the cuts, and also any grazes, "and jutht tho you know, I'm not putting fucking carrotth on my eyeth."

Eridan tried to keep his face as still as possible as Sollux worked, "it's cucumbers, not carrots, you uncivilised swine, and we're not doing that shit anyway." He froze briefly as Sollux smoothed the liquid near his lip, "but I'll tell you what, I've heard that teabags work pretty well for takin' puffiness out from the eye area." He frowned at the expression of childish delight that Sollux was pulling.

"Are you being theriouth? Teabagth on the eyeth ith a beauty tip? Holy fuck, I need a minute." Sollux looked absolutely incredulous, "people _teabag_ themthelveth, willingly?"

"Yeah, like I said, apparently it's good for puffy eyes... What are you laughin' at?" Eridan's face dropped when Sollux explained what else _'teabagging'_ was, which just induced even more hysterics from the nerd.

Once they had gotten the face masks out of the way, Sollux sat there and allowed Eridan to file and polish their nails, and when Eridan chastised him for his nail biting habit, he didn't even complain or argue back. Much.

The rest of the day was nothing but relaxing, and after they had taken the facepacks off, Eridan turned on a film, and they cuddled up on the sofa to enjoy some chocolates. Though he'd never admit it out loud, Sollux really did think that his skin felt pretty fucking soft.

After ordering some takeaway from the Thai restaurant in town, they watched yet another movie; Sollux was ecstatic to see that Eridan had chosen Hot Fuzz, and as they ate their meals, they discussed the fact that Somerfield had been renamed, and how much of a shame that was.

It was only after Sollux checked the wrong pocket for his phone that he felt, and remembered, the metal hoop he had bought earlier that day, "shit, ED, I got you thomething." He curled his fingers around the warm metal, then held it out towards Eridan.

Eridan blinked and stared for a second, then swallowed the lump of chicken in his mouth, "Sol, is that..?"

"Yeah, after what happened to you, I want you to alwayth have thomewhere to go, tho... Yeah..." Sollux shrugged, and he smiled a little as he watched Eridan put his fork and plastic container of green curry down on the table before reaching out to take the object, "theriouthly, it took me forever to find a theahorthe one... Alright, I'm exthaggerating, there wath one in the shop already, but thtill."

There was a heartbeat of silence as Eridan looked at the tiny, plastic, purple seahorse attached to the metal hoop of a keyring. He lifted it up and allowed the set of two keys to dangle down in front of his face, smiling as they glinted in the light of the television, "you're givin' me the keys to your apartment?" Eridan beamed happily, and leant against Sollux, pressing kisses to his cheeks and lips, "thank you Sol! This is fuckin' amazin'! I'll have to get you a key cut for my house too!"

Sollux snorted and wrapped his arms around Eridan, careful not to touch anything near his ribs or to pull him closer, "take your time, I'm not in any rush to get a thet of yourth, I jutht wanted you to alwayth be able to get into my plathe." He smiled as Eridan pecked the very tip of his nose gently.

"Thank you, Sol. I appreciate it." Eridan tried not to wince or gasp as he leant against Sollux and got comfortable, he smiled slightly as he heard Sollux's heart beat quicken ever so slightly, and he snuggled down against his chest.

Sollux began stroking Eridan's hair as gently as he could, and watched the last twenty minutes of the movie, trying his best not to move too much for fear of hurting his boyfriend. It was only after the credits began rolling that Sollux noticed that Eridan's breathing had deepened, and that he had fallen asleep with the keys clutched tightly in his grip.


	42. Rainfalls and Phonecalls

Eridan didn't leave his house until the following Wednesday; he would have put it off a little longer, but Sollux had to cover his work colleagues shift to make up for the Saturday he just had off, and Eridan didn't want to just mope around the house until he came home, so he decided to go to college. Fortunately, he only needed to set up his final piece on his desk, and make sure that the presentation was of the highest standard; once this was done, he would be free to just go home.

When Sollux's alarm had blasted into life first thing in the morning, both men had begrudgingly gotten out of bed. Despite the fact Sollux's shift started two hours before Eridan needed to get to college, Eridan insisted on getting up at the same time. At first Sollux thought that this was some kind of romantic gesture of solidarity, but as soon as the hipster finished showering, and sat down at the vanity desk, Sollux quickly realised that Eridan had his own agenda.

"Sol, stop watchin' me like that. Fuckin' hell, can't a guy make himself look nice without havin' their boyfriend actin' like some kind a creepy voyeur behind them?" Eridan huffed a little and continued the labourious task of slathering makeup on his face in an attempt to cover up the bruises.

Before that moment, Sollux had never really considered the application of makeup as a kind of art form, but as he watched Eridan using different shades of skin tones to contour his features and hide every blemish, he was actually pretty impressed. He perched himself on the edge of the bed, and continued to observe the process.

"Hey, ED, where'd you learn to do that?" Sollux asked, his head resting on his hands.

Eridan glanced at Sollux in the mirror, and shrugged, "I went through a lot a phases when I was younger, an Kan taught me some shit, an I watched a load a videos... I can actually do a whole lot... Well, when I can be bothered, that is." The hipster turned to look at Sollux properly, and smirked in an extremely smug fashion, "but I don't really like to though, I mean, why mess with perfection?" He squawked as a pillow was flung at him.

"You're an idiot." Sollux snorted, but he had to agree, Eridan actually _did_ have pretty nice skin, and makeup would probably just end up being overkill.

After Eridan threw the pillow back at his nerdy boyfriend, they returned to the comfortable silence they shared as Eridan continued his work.

-.-.-.-.-

When Sollux finished his work day, he felt absolutely exhausted; it wasn't like the day had been especially tiring, but he hated having to put on the helpful and happy persona to speak to customers who acted like they had never seen a computer in their life.

_Uncivilised swines._

Sollux left the shop wanting nothing more than to curl up in Eridan's bed, eat some Honey Loops, and watch something that involved seeing stupid people getting eaten by the undead. It had started pouring down about an hour ago, and it didn't look like it was anywhere close to letting up; Sollux thought to himself that this was so fucking typical, especially considering he had only worn a light jacket over his work uniform because it had been so warm that morning. He was just about to stick his headphones into his ears when he heard someone calling him.

"SOL, YOU DEAF PRICK!"

Eridan was stood next to his car, shielding himself from the rain with the cloth he used to clean the windshield, looking both annoyed and relieved. He waved his boyfriend over, "I came to pick you up because it started pissin' it down."

As he wrapped his headphones around his MP3 player, Sollux made his way over, feeling incredibly lucky, "holy shit, ED, you thaved me having to walk for like, an hour in thith bullshit. I thwear thomone up there hateth me." He opened the passenger-side door and flopped into the seat, "thankth for coming to get me."

Eridan ran a hand through his hair, frowning about the fact that his pathetic shield hadn't kept the rain off his head. Once he decided that there was no way in hell he could ever salvage his hairstyle, now that it was slightly damp in places, he stopped staring at his reflection in the wing-mirror, "don't mention it, I didn't want you to be grumpy when you got in" Eridan grinned a little and turned the key.

"Tho it wath a cathe of _thelfish_ altruithm then?" Sollux commented, his words full of dramatic disbelief.

"That's an oxymoron, you tit." Eridan smiled fondly and pulled out of the carpark, heading for home.

Sollux stared out the window, a slight smirk playing on his lips, " _you're_ an oxymoron." He muttered.

The car ride was a little quiet, and although Sollux would never admit it, he couldn't deny the anxiety he felt about the fact that they were driving through such a heavy downpour. Eridan, on the other hand, seemed to be pretty relaxed, and kept the music turned down low to listen to the constant pitter-patter of the rain. There was a rumbling that seemed to come from the sky, and Sollux leant forwards to look up through the windshield at the ominously dark clouds.

It didn't take long to get back to Eridan's, and Sollux once again felt pretty grateful to the hipster for coming to pick him up, because the rain really was horrendous at that point and he still would have been walking in it. Sollux got out of the car, and jogged round to Eridan's side; he grinned as the hipster watched him with a confused expression, which quickly changed to a broad smile as the nerd held his jacket above his head. Eridan opened the door and stepped out, "well well well, look who's turned into a chivalrous gentleman." He locked the car and checked it, before wrapping his arms loosely around Sollux's waist to take full advantage of the makeshift shelter.

Sollux started stripping off the second he was through the front door, " _oh my God_ , you left the heating on." He stretched as he stepped over his discarded clothes, wearing only a pair of navy blue boxers and grey socks, "thee, _thith_ ith why I love you."

"Fuckin' hell, the floor is _not_ where we leave our clothes, Sol!" Eridan pouted as he followed suit, and began pulling his own damp clothes off. He bundled up Sollux's stuff with his own, and carried them upstairs to put them in the laundry basket.

Eridan huffed to himself as he threw everything into the wicker basket in his bathroom, but his frown softened as he felt his boyfriend hug him from behind, "so you finally decided to get your ass up an help me carry your disgustin'-"

His words trailed to nothing as Sollux softly kissed the shell of his ear; he smiled to himself as he was gently, and awkwardly, led back into the bedroom, "Sol, as much as I love the fact you're cuddlin' me, it's really fuckin' difficult to walk backwards like this." Despite saying this, Eridan tried his best to relax against Sollux, and trust that the lanky nerd would keep them both steady enough that they wouldn't end up falling on their asses.

When the back of Sollux's legs bumped against the edge of the bed, he turned around and helped Eridan sit down against the plush pillows, "tho," he said, setting himself down on Eridan's lap, "how wath your day?"

The hipster couldn't help it as an eyebrow arched upwards in mild amusement, "it was fine, I went to class an set my project out on my desk, an I..." He paused for a second as Sollux leant down to kiss his neck gently, "Sol, I hate to be some kind a party pooper, but if you're goin' to do that, it's goin' to get a little difficult for me to talk about my day. Come on, it's one or the other."

Sollux glanced upwards, his eyes alive with some kind of mischievousness, "what'th thith? All of a thudden the great _Eridan Ampora_ ith backing down from a challenge? I'm tho dithappointed." He snickered to himself, and ran his tongue up the side of the hipster's neck, hoping that Eridan would play along.

That was all it took to make the Aquarius huff, "I'm not backin' down from anythin', I'll be able to chat shit through anythin' you can dish out." He grumbled, folding his arms carefully across his heavily bruised chest, "do your fuckin' worst."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I fully intend to." Sollux grinned playfully, and shifted a little on Eridan's lap, earning himself a stifled gasp.

"Right, wwell," Eridan cleared his throat, and tried to ignore the comfortable weight of the guy sat on him, "like I was sayin', I set out my work, an it looked fuckin' incredible, if I do say so myself. I bet that the college'll get a whole class-load a students just because a how impressed they are with my presentation skills."

Sollux made little 'mhmm' noises as Eridan spoke to show that he was listening, but he focused mainly on trailing kisses over the hipster's neck and jawline. He suppressed a laugh as he decided to up the stakes, and move his hips again, whispering a small and needy noise against Eridan's left ear.

The effect, of course, was instantaneous, and Eridan stopped speaking in favour of biting his bottom lip. That was cheating, in Eridan's opinion, and a bloody cheap move too; he frowned a little, and realised that Sollux hadn't actually set any rules for the challenge, so with a smirk plastering his face, he ran a hand down Sollux's bare back, gently scratching him with his perfectly filed nails. When he felt Sollux pause, he continued speaking, "of course that's not the only thing I did today, because I'm just the busiest a bees, you know? You see, Kanaya used me as one of her models for her final project, an this week was supposed to be spent in the photo studio with me tryin' on the outfits she made for me an her girlfriend... She's a fashion student, you see... Anyway, after I set up my work an made sure it looked perfect, Kan stole me away to put the clothin' on, an get my makeup retouched an... Hmm."

The fact that Eridan was making up his own rules for their little game was something that Sollux knew would happen, but he had ways of getting past that. He moved himself lower, and kissed down Eridan's chest, careful to avoid the damaged ribs; Sollux was a little worried when the hipster's voice trailed off again, and he looked up quickly to check if he had hurt him. Fortunately Eridan looked as if he was enjoying himself; his eyes were lidded, and his lips were a thin line. Sollux grinned up at him, and ran a hand over the prominent bulge in the front of Eridan's boxers, "tho, what happened after you got your makeup done?"

Eridan's cheeks darkened with embarrassment, and he turned away, "shut up, asshole." He muttered, trying to hide how flustered he was getting, though it was a little hard to deny the reaction that was happening below his waist. After a moment's hesitation, and with a horrendous pout on his face, he moved his hands up to play with the short hair on Sollux's temples.

Sollux tried to be as gentle as possible; he pressed the tiniest kisses down Eridan's chest, once again being as careful as he could to avoid the dark bruises that outlined each rib. He couldn't help but smile as he felt his boyfriend's fingers move through his hair, and the gentle pressure of hands resting on the back of his head.

As Sollux moved his lips down to his waistband, Eridan's back arched ever so slightly and his hands clenched in his boyfriend's hair as a reflex; he had lost their game, and he couldn't even force himself to give a shit. It was difficult for Eridan to care about anything when those slightly chapped, but still soft, lips were moving lower and lower.

Eridan hummed quietly in appreciation as Sollux unbuttoned his tight, black boxers, and dipped his fingers past the fabric to stroke him. It was annoying for the hipster to know that he had been silenced with only some light teasing, but at the same time he knew that he would most definitely get his revenge on Sollux, and that he would certainly have the last laugh. It was only a matter of time.

Of course, these conniving thoughts melted into nothingness as Sollux kissed the tip of his erection slowly, then rolled his tongue over the slit. A small smile tugged at Eridan's lips as he leant his head back and sighed quietly.

Sollux ran his tongue down the length as he closed his lips around it. He sucked gently and heard Eridan gasp loudly. It was reassuring for the nerd to hear these kinds of reactions because he had only really had a brief fling with a male before getting with Aradia, whereas Eridan had been with quite a few other guys, but there was only one name on Eridan's lips.

"Oh _fuck_ , Sol."

Hearing that made Sollux's heart flutter ever so slightly, and he dipped his head a little lower and hummed softly. He didn't argue or pull away as the hands that were laced on the back of his head gently urged his lips to descend a little more, in fact, he allowed Eridan to have more control than he usually would have, as his playful attitude had dissolved into something more affection-driven. More than anything else, Sollux wanted Eridan to forget about all the bullshit that had happened over the past week, and to just focus on the feelings of the moment.

Eridan bit his lip to stifle the noises that threatened to bubble up from his throat, but he couldn't fight back the urge to move his hips, and they twitched upwards reflexively. In Eridan's mind, there was no poetry, or flowery words, or even any kind of fancy description for how he was feeling. The only thing he could think was that it felt _fucking incredible_.

Sollux felt Eridan's hips twitch as he sped up his slow, languid movements, and he felt his face heat up a little; it was an amazing confidence boost to have someone that he thought was so gorgeous reacting in such a way. He knew that he couldn't possibly take as much in his mouth as Eridan was always able to, but he made up for this by stroking him with his right hand.

It didn't take long for Eridan to start mumbling words under his breath, and he pulled at Sollux's hair a little, "oh shit, Sol, I fuckin' love you, please..." He brought a hand up to his own mouth to try and silence the slightly desperation-tinged whispers, but it was ineffective; Sollux's eyes flicked upwards to see that Eridan's face, and ears, were bright red.

The warmth of his boyfriend's mouth, and the way that his tongue was moving so perfectly, made Eridan's head spin, and his breathing quicken. He was quickly reaching his limit, and he couldn't help the words that spilled past the fingers that were pressed against his lips, "don't stop, _please_ don't stop..."

With Eridan pleading above him, Sollux felt a little smug, and he hummed in agreement.

Of all the things that could have driven Eridan over the edge, he cursed the fact that _of course_ it hadto have been Sollux acting like a cocky little shit that did it. Eridan moaned and arched his back as his muscles tensed; the pleasure coursed through his body, but as he came, he struggled for breath as his ribcage felt as if it was splitting.

With pretty much no warning to go by, Sollux didn't really have any time to react; he tried to swallow as quickly as he could, but it wasn't enough. He coughed a little, and wiped the thin trail off his chin. After pulling away, Sollux kept his hand moving over the now-slick, and surely over-sensitive member, and kissed the tip once again, "hey, Eridan?"

Eridan groaned quietly, and glanced down, "oh, _fuck_ ," he whispered, "wwhat's up?" His heart did a somersault in his pain-filled ribcage as he looked his boyfriend between his legs; his strange eyes looked all the more beautiful with the cheeks beneath them dusted with a deep pink.

"I love you." Sollux said, sincerity lacing his words.

This small statement made a warm smile appear on Eridan's face, and he cupped Sollux's cheek with a hand, "I love you too, Sol." Of course, his desire to be romantic and lean over to give his boyfriend a kiss was overridden by the feeling that his chest was being ripped open, and he gasped before flopping back against the pillows, "oh shit, ow!"

Sollux quickly sat up, his eyes wide with concern, "holy fuck! Are you alright? Ith it your ribth?" His hands hovered over the purple and red blotched chest, but he knew that he couldn't do anything to help, which just made him feel incredibly helpless, and also pretty useless.

Eridan nodded, and blinked away the tears, "fuck, I forgot an it caught me off guard is all, don't worry about it." He smiled a little, and ruffled Sollux's hair playfully, "I'm fine honestly, I've had worse. Just think, Sol, at least I didn't have to sew myself up again."

"You're an idiot." Sollux grinned, leaning back against the hand. It was good to hear the hipster making jokes about the injuries, as it was a sign that he was starting to get over the incident. When Eridan had come home from the hospital, the first thing he had done was run to a mirror, and look at himself; this had ended with Eridan in tears, and Sollux holding him, whispering that everything would be alright.

Eridan smiled, and rebuttoned his boxers before leaning back against the pillows; he was about to speak when there was suddenly an extraordinarily loud boom, and the room was suddenly lit up. They looked at eachother, then turned to the window.

The rain was lashing against the glass panes, and the sky rumbled loudly; the sounds of the cars driving past the house were very nearly drowned out by the impressive volume of the storm. Sollux shifted so that he was sat next to Eridan, "tho, tell me about your day."

"Is this another trick? If I start talkin' are you goin' to do somethin' else to me?" One of Eridan's eyebrows quirked upwards, and he smirked, "not that I'll be complainin' or anythin'."

Sollux smacked the back of Eridan's head, "not thith time, ath-hole. Now tell me about that outfit thing that Kanaya made for you." He leant against Eridan, and watched as the hipster reached for the phone on the bedside table, "oh God, don't tell me you've got a whole fucking thlideshow, I jutht want a brief dethcription, not all... _Thith_." He waved a hand at the phone as he spoke, and tried not to laugh at the pout that appeared on Eridan's face.

"For your information, _Sollux_ , I _have_ to show a picture or two for you to understand just how amazin' I looked in the thing Kan made, so shut up an have a look at these." Eridan thrust the phone into Sollux's hands, and tapped the screen a few times until a photo appeared.

For all his complaining, Sollux was actually pretty glad that Eridan had some photos, because it was much easier to get invested in the hipster's story when there was something to actually look at. While Eridan droned on about the feeling and colour of the fabric, or how amazingly he had posed, Sollux flipped through the collection of images; it was hard to deny just how impressed he actually was. Eridan was dressed in a beautifully regal looking ensemble, complete with a short cape and a fancy-looking rapier sword; his hair and makeup had been styled in a way that made the hipster look majestic, and a little menacing, especially considering that his eyes looked so stern and fierce.

After scrolling past a few lonesome photos, Sollux's eyebrow raised a little. On the screen, in glorious full-colour, was a very pale, and very pretty woman; she had dark, pursed lips, peroxide blonde hair, and a floor-length, black dress that clung to her body so tightly that it left little to the imagination. The dress itself seemed to shimmer like spilled oil, and was a sharp contrast to the young woman's hair and skin; her expression was one of softened arrogance, and she smiled slightly at Eridan kneeling at her feet, her thin hand pressed against his lips.

The next few photos were posed in a way that made the pair look as though they were dancing; Eridan's posture was strong, and he looked like a chivalrous gentleman, while the woman seemed graceful and delicate, and the skirt of her dress flowed like a flawless ebony waterfall.

"Holy shit, ED, you actually don't look that bad when you're all dolled up like that." Sollux mumbled, still flicking through the photos; he was impressed that Kanaya had actually made the outfits herself, as they looked incredibly professional and there didn't seem to be a single stitch out of place.

Eridan shrugged, "what can I say, I brush up well." He leant his head against Sollux, and pointed at the screen as their outfits changed to a more modern style of clothing, "I prefered the other one, but Kan insisted that I'd look good in this one, too."

"She wathn't wrong." Sollux smirked a little, and handed the phone back to Eridan as he eventually finished the slide-show of Kanaya's pictures, and found himself looking down at a selfie of himself and Eridan wearing facemasks, "you should've athked her if you could have kept them, and maybe drethed up for a private viewing jutht for me." He snickered as Eridan slapped his arm with a huff.

"Sol I am _not_ doin' some kind a strip-tease for you in an outfit that was made for me by a very good friend a mine, just because you think I look-"

They both turned towards the bathroom door as Sollux's phone came to life in the laundry basket, "fuck, ED, you forgot to take my phone out of my trouther pocket!" Sollux rolled off the bed and made his way over to the bathroom, ignoring the insulted noise that Eridan made as he passed.

Sollux had barely found his phone in time, it was on the last few notes of the song as he pressed the answer button and held it against his head, "hello?"

"Hey, I was just about to hang up!" Aradia's voice sounded cheerful, "so, what're you up to?"

"Oh, nothing much, jutht... Hanging out with thomeone," Sollux peeked through the door, and saw that Eridan was getting up; he covered the mouthpiece of the phone, and frowned, "ED, what are you doing?" He asked quietly.

Eridan shrugged, "just goin' to go feed Barbossa, I'll be back up in a bit." He answered, before strolling off.

Sollux watched him leave, and smiled as his eyes trailed down to his boyfriend's ass. He lifted the phone to his head, and leant against the doorframe, "thorry about that, what'th up?"

"Well, you passed on our plans to get more ice-cream... Although, this weather doesn't really call for it, so I guess we would have gotten coffee again, or something." She paused, and Sollux guessed that she was either thinking, or looking out the window at the rain.

"Yeah, I had to do a shift at work today, and I only got off a little while ago. We could alwayth arrange to go out thome other time, I gueth." He moved back over to the bed, and sat down. Sollux knew that he would be lying if he said that he didn't feel happy about the fact that Aradia actually wanted to hang out again, but at the same time, he felt frustrated at himself for feeling like this.

Aradia gasped quietly, "oh definitely! You know, you still need to come over and see my new place." She hinted.

Sollux laughed, and he could imagine the elbow that would have been nudging him if they'd been sat next to eachother, "I gueth..." He hesitated. His train of thought was interrupted by a pair of arms sliding around his chest, as Eridan hugged him from behind, "shit, thorry, can we talk later? I've got thomething I need to take care of."

Eridan's lips were soft against his ear, and Sollux heard him murmur, "well, you kind a already took care a me, but I won't say 'no' to round two."

Aradia sounded a little disheartened when she spoke again, but still managed to sound somewhat chipper, "fair enough, I should have text to see if you was free to talk... But next time I phone you, we're arranging for you to come round, okay?"

The insistent kisses against Sollux's neck and shoulder were incredibly distracting, and he could feel his face reddening, "yeah, sure, thoundth good. Jutht let me know when you're free nextht." He reached behind himself and flicked Eridan's thigh.

"Excellent! It shouldn't be too hard to find a day when we're both free, I'm lucky enough to be pretty much made of time at the moment!" Aradia paused for a second, "have a nice night, Sollux."

"You too... Bye." Sollux tapped the screen to end the call, and was careful to angle the phone in a way that Eridan wouldn't have seen who he was talking to. After putting the phone down, he turned around and was promptly kissed.

Eridan pulled away with a cheeky smile, "was that Tuna?" He asked, smoothing his hands over Sollux's slender chest.

It was surprisingly easy to lie to Eridan, and that worried Sollux a little, "nah, it wath Roxthy... That girl from my clath who told me about the contetht, remember?" He flopped back against the mound of pillows in an ungraceful manner, and held his hands out towards Eridan.

"Fair enough." Eridan climbed carefully onto Sollux's lap, and smiled, "you know, you could have told me to stop, and carried on talkin' to her."

Sollux shook his head, "you're way more important, and thith theemed like much more fun." He laced his fingers with Eridan's, and leant up to press their lips together in a slow kiss. In the back of his mind, he wondered what Aradia's new place was going to be like.


	43. Secrets and Surprises

The usual date day had been postponed on the Friday after the storm; Eridan had told Sollux that he was still too 'ashamed of his hideous wounds to go on any kind of date'. Sollux had simply rolled his eyes and agreed that maybe it really _would_ be best to put off their date, afterall, Eridan wasn't going to feel ashamed of his wounds forever. _Was he?_

When Sollux woke up on Friday morning, there was a prettily hand-written note on Eridan's pillow; it simply said that Eridan had to go out for the day, and wouldn't be back until the evening. Sollux turned the note over to look for some kind of explanation for where Eridan had gone, but there was none; the only thing that the Gemini could think of was that maybe his boyfriend had to run off to do something for college, afterall, it _was_ his last day, and maybe he had suddenly remembered of some kind of presentation emergency that needed immediate attention.

Despite this, he was more than a little curious about where the hipster had run off to first thing in the morning. Sollux desperately wanted to play detective, and somehow find out where his boyfriend was, but he simply shrugged it off; he snickered to himself as he imagined Eridan in a day-spa or something, and thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't been invited, or rather, _dragged_ , along. Having Eridan out of the way gave Sollux the opportunity to have the house to himself; so he settled down with his laptop, and got some college work done. His finishing date was quickly approaching, and hadn't really had much time to complete any more coursework considering the fact that he had been looking after Eridan. Though he'd never admit it, Sollux was actually quite proud of the amount of effort he had put into making his boyfriend feel better; he and had even managed to heat up some soup for Eridan on _three_ separate occasions.

He'd also never admit that he'd hidden the ruined saucepan in the garden, under one of the deck chairs.

When Eridan had finally returned home, the sun was setting, and the hipster looked positively exhausted. Sollux had welcomed him from the sofa, but the hipster just flopped against him and mumbled something with a scratchy voice, before falling asleep; it was strange, Eridan's hair looked like shit, and was the messiest Sollux had ever seen it.

He also smelled vaguely of sweat and... _Barbeque?_

Saturday, on the other hand, was pretty standard. Sollux went out to complete his usual day at work, and ended up having to turn his phone off because Eridan had been so bored at home, that he had sent a new text every five minutes. Asides from that, work went by without a hitch, and Sollux returned home in a pleasant enough mood to initiate a cuddle on the sofa with Eridan.

Sollux was very surprised when Eridan asked if they could visit Mituna on the following Wednesday. Seeing as Eridan didn't have college anymore, and still wasn't _quite_ ready to go back to his lifeguarding job; Sollux assumed that maybe this was the hipster's way of filling the days up with some kind of non-strenuous activity. Regardless of the reason, Sollux was just happy that his boyfriend wanted to visit his brother and hang out.

He phoned Simon as soon as he was able, and arranged the visit.

-.-.-.-.-

"I hate these damn zombie dogs-mutants." Eridan grumbled as he mashed the buttons on the controller he was holding, "an why does there have to be a massive one?"

Mituna snorted and dodged an oncoming attack, "the big one'th called Atrociouth. Jutht keep hitting it, and remember to try and dodge the poithon attackth. Don't worry I'm healing you, tho you're not going to get killed." He tapped away at the buttons with a lot less ferocity than Eridan, and kept an eye on both of their health bars.

So far they had been playing for about an hour and a half, and had gotten quite a few missions done. Sollux watched from the sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand, and once again played the part of a back-seat gamer, calling out hints and reminders every now and again.

Simon had been more than happy for Sollux and Eridan to come round to hang out with Mituna for the day; he had to work in the morning, so it was a relief for him to know that Mituna wouldn't be alone, and would instead be in safe hands until he got back.

As his health bar shot down, Eridan made a high-pitched noise, and made his dwarf character sprint away from the giant two-headed dog that was trying to poison him with a bright green poison-breath attack. When Mituna stayed true to his word, and kept him alive and healed, Eridan grinned, "thanks, Tuna."

They worked together to quickly dispose of the mini boss and it's helpers, but Eridan had no time to celebrate their victory as a message popped up for them to go fight Luvia's other monsters, "oh God, there's _more_?" He groaned.

Sollux stretched, and had a sip of his coffee, "yeah, there'th two big enemieth left, then a load of little oneth, and... Well, you'll thee it yourthelf to be honetht." He tried very hard not to laugh at Eridan's distressed expression, "don't worry, Tuna'th pretty good at keeping people alive. Have thome faith."

As Eridan nodded and turned round, looking a little more determined, Sollux smiled; It was nice to see that Mituna and Eridan were getting along so well, and that they actually enjoyed eachother's company. He sat up a little and pulled his feet off the coffee table as the he heard the front door open, "Dad? That you?"

Simon walked into the room, and ruffled Mituna's hair, "hey, everyone good here?" He asked.

"Yeah, Tuna wanted Eridan to play thome more Baldur'th Gate, and I'm obviouthly thupervithing." Sollux shrugged, and resumed his _ever so helpful_ scrutinizing of the screen.

Mituna looked up at his father, and grinned widely, "me and Eridan are going to complete it Dad!" He turned to Eridan, and shoved him playfully, "Eridan thuckth at it, but I'm helping him to not be tho crap."

The shove was completely unexpected, and Eridan nearly fell onto his side, "I'm not _that_ bad, come on! It's just a little different to be havin' the characters right in front a me, instead a havin' dice an books... If we were playin' _my_ game, I'd be the one carryin' your butt, an you'd be eatin' some humble pie." He smirked, as he righted himself.

The physical contact between the two young men had also surprised Sollux and Simon, and they briefly shared eye contact. It was quite rare for Mituna to touch anyone who he wasn't very close to, and even then, there was a risk that it would be some kind of act of lashing out brought on by frustration.

"I'll just quickly make a coffee, then I'll come watch you guys play." Simon said as he left the room, glancing back at Eridan and Mituna for only a second.

Eridan listened intently to the cutscene, and rolled his eyes, "there is no way I'm takin' this kind a trash talk from some bint with ugly hair." He allowed Mituna to choose their responses, then put his own controller down, "Tuna, could you give me a sec? I'll be right back."

After pausing the game, Mituna nodded, "ath long ath you're really quick, I don't want to wait ageth." He bum-shuffled over to the coffee table, and picked up his glass of juice. Once Eridan left in the same direction that Simon had gone, he spoke, "Tholluxth, are we making good time?" He asked, pulling his baggy fringe to one side to look at his brother properly.

"Yeah, I mean, you're not going ath quickly ath you do when _I'm_ helping you, but Eridan'th thlow ath anything, tho you get pointth for putting up with him." Sollux smiled as Mituna nodded in a knowing-fashion, then drank another mouthful of his rapidly-cooling coffee, "Tuna... Do you like Eridan coming round, then?" He was a little hesitant about asking, because he didn't want Mituna to possibly overthink it, and get upset, but he really wanted to hear his brother say yes.

Mituna paused, and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. He took a minute to mull it over before answering, "yeah, Eridan'th okay I gueth. I like playing gameth with him, and he'th not _terrible_ at Baldur'th Gate or... Oh!" Mituna shook Sollux's hand vigorously to get his attention, despite the fact he already had it, "can you athk Eridan to bring hith Pokemon game over nextht time, tho I can battle him?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll bring him round onthe I've finished with college." Sollux mirrored his brother's smile, and felt pretty happy; it was a relief to know that Mituna liked Eridan enough to actually ask for him to come round to play again.

Eridan practically skipped back into the room, with an ecstatic expression on his face. He flopped down in front of the telly again, and picked up his abandoned controller, "right, let's get this done."

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux squinted behind his sunglasses. The sun was atrociously bright, and he hadn't slept for nearly long enough to have the patience to put up with it.

It was Friday, and Sollux was waiting in Eridan's car for the hipster to get his act together and start this God-awful date. Well, he _assumed_ that it was going to be God-awful, because what kind of _good_ date involved getting up at 6AM to start getting ready?

He folded his arms and sagged in his seat as Eridan finished checking the front door, and joined him, "you took your fucking thweet-ath time." Sollux grumbled.

Eridan rolled his eyes, and buckled his seatbelt, "stop bein' so fuckin' negative, this is supposed to be _fun_ , remember?" He started the car, and turned on the radio, before humming along happily with the obnoxious pop song.

Neither really spoke during the car journey, and Sollux's train of thought rolled through the events of the last few days; he still didn't know where they were headed, as Eridan had been extremely secretive about the whole ordeal, the only thing he knew about the date was that it most likely wasn't going to be good enough to warrant the early start. Then again, it wasn't like this was the first thing that Eridan had been so secretive about in the past week or so, as Sollux still hadn't managed to find out what the hipster had done on the previous Friday.

These thoughts were suddenly thrown out the window as Sollux recognised the roads they were driving down.

They were headed towards his dad's house.

Sollux looked around, and frowned as he glared at Eridan, "what'th going on?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Eridan smiled knowingly, but refused to say anything. He kept driving, and ignored the continuous pestering that he was being showered with.

"ED? Eridan? Eridan Ampora? Thtop ignoring me, ath-hole. Come on, what'th happening? Why are we driving to Dad'th?" Sollux reached over and prodded his boyfriend's thigh. He was about to say something else when he suddenly froze; Eridan had slowed the car down when they approached his dad's house, and stood at the garden gate with a gigantic grin on their face, was Mituna. Sollux watched as Mituna jumped up and down excitedly, and dragged their father over to them.

"What'th... What'th going on, Eridan?" Sollux asked quietly as Mituna got in the car.

After Simon had leant into the car to buckle Mituna's seatbelt, he set a dark yellow backpack down onto one of the empty back seats, "right Mituna, I want you to be on your absolute best behaviour for Eridan and Sollux, okay? And watch the language." He smiled playfully, and flicked his son's forehead.

"Jeeth Dad, I'm not a kid anymore!" Mituna pouted, and rubbed a hand over his fringe. He quickly settled, and pulled his backpack onto his lap, then wrapped his arms around it, "tho... Where _are_ we going today?"

Both of the Captor boys turned to Eridan expectantly, awaiting an answer, and frowned when they received none.

Simon closed the car-door before walking around to Eridan's side, he pulled his dressing gown around himself a little tighter to shield himself from the brisk morning air, "I've explained to Tuna that he's staying around yours with Sollux tonight, and that you're all going out somewhere special, but I haven't said where." He tried to blank the disbelieving look that Sollux was giving them both.

"What the f...udge, you're both conthpiring together now? When the hell did that thtart happening?" Sollux got out of the car, and joined Mituna in the back, still frowning, "oi, Eridan, how come you never told me that Tuna wath thleeping round tonight?" He reached forwards and playfully tugged a small chunk of Eridan's hair.

Eridan made a ridiculous noise and flapped a hand at the back of his own head, trying to slap his boyfriend's hand away, "Sol, pack it in, it was a surprise, now sit back an enjoy the ride, because you an Tuna are goin' to have so much fun with what I got planned." He turned his attention back to Simon and gave a wide grin that would have rivalled any of Mituna's, "thanks for not spoilin' the surprise, I've had to work pretty hard to keep the plan a secret from Sol, so I know how difficult it is."

Simon nodded in agreement as it had been hell to try and distract Mituna enough that he'd forget his constant questioning, "well, you've got my number, so if you need to bring Tuna back because he's playing up too much, just let me know and I'll come get him." He smiled once again, "thanks for having them both, and for bringing Tuna along for this, I know that he'll appreciate it when you all get there."

This made Eridan positively beam, "It's not a problem in the slightest! But don't worry, if anythin' happens, I'll drop him off myself."

The twins in the back watched this conversation silently, kind of hoping that one of the conversing men would slip up and mention where they were going, but it didn't happen. They crossed their arms in unison, and frowned skeptically, and if Eridan had been watching he probably would have found it absolutely adorable.

Finally Simon looked at his sons, and pulled a stern face, "no messing around today, alright? Follow Eridan's orders, and be _good_. Tuna, I want you to be on your absolute best behaviour around Eridan's house, and don't be naughty. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled before stepping away from the car to wave, "and have fun!"

"Bye Dad!" Tuna yelled as he leant across Sollux to wave frantically at their father, hardly noticing the fact that he was rapping his fingers against Sollux's face.

After they had all given a farewell wave to Simon, Eridan drove away; he glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw that Mituna kept waving his arm around until Simon was no longer in sight. Before either of the Captors could start questioning him, Eridan turned on the radio and began singing along to a bouncy pop song.

Throughout the entire journey, the Captor twins both tried interrogating Eridan; they questioned and complained loud enough to be heard over the music on the radio, and even tried a 'nice twin, bad twin' routine, where Sollux spoke softly and made sweet promises, and Mituna grinned while he made a horrific noise which could only be described as something a pterodactyl would make.

Though it took a lot of effort, Eridan kept his mouth shut and ignored the attempts made by the twins until they both just gave up, and resumed their arm-folding and childish pouting.

Just as they both resigned themselves to the unknown, Mituna perked up, and pressed his face against his window as a road sign caught his attention; he read it out slowly as they approached it, "Th-or-pe... P-ar-k," he said, breaking the word into easy to pronounce chunks, "Thorpe Park."

There was a heartbeat of silence before Mituna shrieked, "HOLY SHIT, ARE WE GOING TO THORPE PARK!?"

Sollux looked a little shocked, and glared at the back of Eridan's head, "oh crap, ED, he'th theen the thign, he'll be tho difficult to handle now! Why didn't you jutht tell him where we were _actually_ headed, tho that we could have avoided him getting hith hopeth up like this?" He scolded, knowing full-well that Mituna would be heartbroken when they ended up going somewhere that would undoubtedly be nowhere near as fun as the theme park.

While Mituna continued to babble excitedly to Sollux about how he was going to tell Latula all about the rides when they got home, Eridan stayed strangely silent. This annoyed Sollux a little, but he expected that it was probably because the hipster was feeling guilty.

Just as Sollux was about to apologise for snapping at him, he frowned. Eridan had moved the car into another lane, and taken an exit that went towards Thorpe Park, but that wasn't right... Was it?

As they pulled into the carpark ten minutes later, Sollux was still sat in a stunned silence. Mituna, however, was yanking at the car door in a desperate attempt to escape towards the entrance.

Eridan smiled to himself as he got out of the car. He opened Sollux's side first, and watched as the twins clambered out, once again holding hands to prevent any running off.

"ED... What'th going on?" Sollux asked, almost struggling to keep Mituna from sprinting off while they walked calmly through the almost deserted carpark, "ith thith becauthe Tuna thaw the thign, or thomething? Or becauthe I had a go at you?"

Eridan shrugged, "let's get one thing straight, I deserve one hundred and ten percent of credit for today, do you realise how hard it was to keep this outin' a secret from you?" He puffed out his chest proudly as both twins actually gave him their full attention, "I've been plannin' this for about a week an a half now. I did some research an found out what day would have the most exams on, an also finishin' days for college, an booked tickets for then because I know you hate crowds, an also because it would a been easier with Tuna if it was more empty here."

As they reached the entrance, Sollux had to admit that he thought that it was a little strange that the carpark seemed so empty, but he thought that this was just because it was so damn early. He kept quiet while Eridan continued talking, and held the door open for them all to walk through.

"Then it was just a case of askin' Simon if we could take Tuna with us, an whether or not Tuna was okay with sleepin' out at other people's houses... Your dad packed a set a Power Rangers bed sheets for me to put on the spare bed so that Tuna would feel more at home, by the way, so remind me to put those on when we get back."

Sollux heard Mituna mumble, "fucking love the Power Rangerth," under his breath as Eridan dealt with the ticket stand, then resumed listening to the hipster's self-gratifying speech as they all got their hands stamped.

"Like I told you before, Sol, I'm a master a tactics an I wanted this to be perfect because of all the sh...ugar we've had to put up with recently." Eridan smiled warmly as they approached another set of doors that led to the park, "so... Surprise."

"But you _hate_ rideth, ED, remember the fairground? You thought you wath going to _die_."

Eridan's smile faltered a little, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "well I'm not goin' to lie, that _was_ a blip in the plan for a while, but I guess I got my act together an overcame it." He shrugged at Sollux's bewildered expression, "look, remember how I went out last Friday an didn't tell you where I was goin'? Well I kind a got Fef to bring me here an force me onto the rides until I was okay with them... Turns out I'm amazin' with heights, an I don't mind the speed, but it's the spinnin' I don't like, so the Ferris Wheel was just the worst thing ever."

Sollux leant forwards and gave Eridan a quick kiss, "you're incredible." He mumbled before being dragged away by Mituna.

The three of them traipsed through the park at a relaxed speed, and even Mituna calmed down a little after Sollux explained that they would literally have all day to play on the rides.

Eridan and Sollux stayed on either side of Mituna, just in case his mood changed and he tried to run off; thankfully there wasn't a risk of losing him in a crowd, as the park was very nearly empty.

"Sugar, ED, you chothe a freaking perfect day." Sollux marvelled; he had never been in a queue for a ride that had taken less than an hour before, and yet they'd already ridden Stealth twice in fifteen minutes.

Eridan nodded, the corners of his mouth curving upwards with pride, "course I did, like I said, I wanted this to be the perfect day." He suddenly looked a little sheepish, "though it _could've_ been completely empty."

Sollux frowned a little, "what do you mean? Wath there a better day to come or thomething?"

"Not exactly," Eridan looked as though he was trying to come up with a way to word what he wanted to say a little better, "right, here's the deal, Fef told Father about my date plan, because she obviously can't keep her damn mouth shut sometimes... Anyway, Father was on the verge a havin' the entire park shut down so that we'd have the place all to ourselves."

The way that Eridan said this in such an off-handed way surprised Sollux; it was almost frightening to think about how much power, and money, the head of the Ampora name had.

"Wow." Was all Sollux could say as he continued to think about just how much the family was worth.

Eridan picked at a small piece of fluff on his sweater, "it's not that big a deal, I mean he's done that kind a thing for Cro, Fef and Meenah, you know?" After a second's hesitation, he mumbled, "but he also said that takin' you somewhere like this was a complete waste a time, an that my idea was childish as hell, an that I should take you somewhere that isn't so ridiculous."

While Eridan kept his eyes averted, Sollux wondered if the hipster had had any second thoughts about going through with the date idea after hearing his father make those kinds of comments. Regardless, they were here now, and it really was turning out to be the best date that he had ever been on.

To make his boyfriend feel better, Sollux reached over and gave him a pat on the bum, "that'll do, pig. That'll do." He said, pulling a completed solemn face.

The queues continued to stay nearly non-existent, and there was more than one occasion where the three young men had been allowed to stay on the rides and just go again, to save getting off and running back through the empty queue sections. Their seating arrangement was the same as their walking arrangement; Mituna stayed in the middle, while Eridan and Sollux flanked his sides, though while they were on the rides this was more to provide the sense of security to Mituna.

When they reached a ride called The Detonator, Eridan mentioned quietly that he hadn't had time to try that one when he had come with Fef on the previous Friday, but that he hadn't minded missing it because it didn't look as though it could have been scary in the slightest. Sollux and Mituna both grinned, and made a point of demanding that they all have a go on it, and Eridan, of course, agreed.

The slow ascent had Eridan looking bored; he swung his legs a little, and whistled, not noticing the matching gleeful expressions of anticipation aimed his way by the Captor twins.

After they reached the top, Eridan felt his stomach drop as the realisation hit him like a sack of shit, "oh God," he turned to stare at Sollux and Mituna with wide eyes, "it's goin' to drop, isn't it?"

There wasn't even enough time to respond as the ride suddenly jolted and shot downwards at an alarming speed, and the movement was punctuated with an ear-splitting scream that didn't cease until the ride had come to a safe stop.

Sollux and Mituna were laughing so hard they almost fell on the floor, but their laughter only increased in volume when they turned to watch Eridan trying to walk away from the ride with legs made of jelly. It was only after the twin's hysterics has dissolved into quiet hiccoughs and snickers, that Eridan whispered to Sollux that he had very nearly peed a little.

This, of course, set Sollux off again, and he laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face, and he choked for breath.

After they had ridden on a few more rides, none of which involved dropping from a stupid height at a death-defying speed, Mituna rubbed his stomach, "can we get thomething to eat?" He asked, looking around himself for some kind of food establishment, "I want a burger and frieth."

Eridan nodded, "follow me then, I got this whole park memorised so I'll find us the best place for burgers, that has amazin' barbeque stuff too." He started walking off, but turned as he felt a hand quickly grabbing his own.

Mituna's attention flicked between the buildings and rides around them, and the rings on the hand he was currently grasping, but eventually he noticed that they weren't moving anymore, "come on, hurry up, I'm hungry." He pouted.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Tuna." Eridan nodded, and took a moment to look down at their clasped hands one last time before leading the twins through to park and to the BBQ grill building.

Once they had gotten there, and taken turns to run to the toilet, Eridan ordered their food. Sollux smiled as the childlike state of excited bewilderment on Eridan's face hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Their food thankfully hadn't taken too long to make, and the three of them were out and free to explore the park again in no time.

There wasn't really any kind of pattern to it, but sometimes Mituna would hold Eridan's hand when they got off a ride, and sometimes he would only continue to hold Sollux's. It just seemed to depend on what Mituna felt like doing at that precise moment, but whenever he _did_ decide to grab hold of Eridan's hand, the hipster's face lit up like Christmas, and he beamed happily.

Sollux didn't doubt for even a second that the Aquarius was already planning how to word the bragging text he would undoubtedly send to Feferi.

The rest of the day seemed to fly past, and the three of them were shocked when they realised that it was very nearly closing time; though this was probably a good thing, because Mituna had gone very quiet over the past half an hour, and looked even more exhausted than Eridan and Sollux felt.

They left the park together, and Mituna didn't even argue or mess around as Sollux sorted his seatbelt out.

The drive back was unsurprisingly quiet as they all felt knackered, and their voices were a little gravelly from the almost constant screaming.

When they got back to Eridan's, the twins settled on the living room couch while Eridan went and perfected the spare bedroom, insisting that no one step foot in it until it was done. Both Captors filled the time by playing some Pokemon, and barely even looked up when the hipster returned to the living room, and flopped down onto the couch with his own 3DS.

Eridan found himself too distracted to concentrate on training his team though, as Mituna was leant against Sollux, and his head kept sagging to the side with exhaustion. Before he could say anything, Sollux seemed to pick up on this, and set his console down to the side, "alright, Tuna, bedtime."

"No, Tholluxth, ten more minuteth." Mituna slurred, moving his fringe out of the way of his eyes to rub them sleepily.

Sollux stood up, and kept his voice stern, "nope. You've had a buthy day and now it'th time to thleep, now get up." He smiled just a little as he spoke, "come on, the thooner you go to bed, the thooner you can get up and annoy ED."

This seemed to satisfy Mituna, and he stood up slowly, "fair enough, night Eridan."

Eridan waved from the couch, "g'night Tuna, see you in the mornin'." The second the Captors were out of sight, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and began writing an essay of a text to Feferi to tell her how amazingly perfect the date had been, and how Mituna had actually held his hand.

Once Mituna had brushed his teeth, Sollux brought him to the spare room that had been kitted out with the Power Rangers bedsheets; he marvelled at the fact that the walls were now adorned with posters of various Pokemon, and other cartoon characters, instead of the usual plain cream paint-job. The familiar gurning face of Shaun the Shark peered out from the pillows, and Sollux couldn't help but snort.

The second Mituna had changed into his pyjamas, he dove onto the bed, and rolled himself up in the quilt, cuddled Shaun to his chest, then waited for Sollux to sit down next to him.

"Did you have fun today?" Sollux asked, setting himself down on the bed with slightly more grace than his brother had used.

"Fuck yeth... Did you hear how loudly Eridan thcreamed on all the rideth? Or how he looked like he wath going to puke conthtantly, or how he nearly wet himthelf on The Detonator?" Mituna spoke softly, and grinned sleepily, "Eridan'th a fucking idiot."

Sollux watched as Mituna curled himself up into a more comfortable position, and lowered his own voice to a more soothing volume, "yeah, that wath pretty funny. I thought he wath going to pee and puke at leatht five timeth, but he didn't let uth down. Maybe we can take him to another theme park, what do you think?"

"Mhm." Mituna nodded against the soft pillows, and paused before mumbling, "I like Eridan, he'th not a _complete_ shit-head all the time."

"I like him too." Sollux replied, stroking the dandelion-puff of hair on top of his twin brother's head.

Sollux didn't leave his brother's room for another half an hour, and he quickly found Eridan in their bedroom, still playing Pokemon. He flopped onto the bed and leant against his boyfriend, watching his screen with half-interest, "evolve your Thkrelp, you idiot."

"Okay, one, hey Sol nice to see you drop onto my bed like a fuckin' whale, an two, mind you own damn business. I love Skrelps, an I don't want to evolve him." Eridan looked up with surprise as Sollux climbed onto his lap.

"Fair enough, keep your damn Thkrelp." The nerd smiled warmly at the Aquarius beneath him, and leant down to kiss him gently, "thank you for today, thith wath jutht fucking incredible. Theriouthly I can't even dethcribe how much thith hath meant to me and Tuna." When Eridan tried to speak, Sollux quickly cut off the words with his own lips. It didn't take much before Eridan got the hint, and retaliated by tilting his head, but he quickly pulled away.

"Let me just save first." Eridan looked down at his DS, and started tapping the screen. Sollux would have been mad if he wasn't so proud.

Once the DS had been carefully placed to one side, Eridan wrapped his arms around Sollux, and pulled him down into a lazy kiss.

-.-.-

Eridan was snoring softly, an arm draped over Sollux's chest.

Sollux felt incredibly exhausted, but he couldn't get to sleep just yet. He had always wondered why Eridan seemed so fine with always being on the bottom whenever they had sex, and now he knew that it was because it actually felt pretty good.

The nerd turned his head and watched as his boyfriend's chest rose and fell slowly, and methodically; the memory of the heated, and whispered, admissions of love floated through his mind, and he turned what he could only imagine was a ridiculous shade of red.

As slowly and as carefully as he could, Sollux slipped out of bed, and tiptoed to the bathroom; once there, he brushed his teeth, and turned awkwardly to look at the light scratches on his back. Sollux watched as his reflection's face turned bright red once again, and he grinned a little.

Sollux had to admit that he actually loved how Eridan's face had looked when he had whispered that he wanted the hipster to be on top for once. He just wished he had taken a photo, because it was fucking priceless.

Just as Sollux stumbled back to the bed, his phone buzzed to life and lit up. He frowned, and picked it up, wondering who could be texting him at such an inappropriate moment; his eyes widened when he saw that it was from Aradia.

**'hi sollux i know you was busy again this week but if youre free next wednesday do you want to maybe come round so we can have movie day! and i promise i wont make you watch a marathon of indiana jones again**   
**like i said before it would appear that since i finished my course ive been made of time so let me know okay'**

There was a heartbeat of hesitation, and Sollux's fingers hovered over the keypad as he decided what to do.

After taking a deep breath, he deleted the message, set down his phone, and cuddled up to Eridan. Sollux sighed quietly and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, smiling as the hipster pulled him closer. He pressed his lips against the slice of violet hair, and breathed in the familiar scent of coconut; as his hands glided over the soft skin of Eridan's back, he decided that there was nowhere in the world he would rather be.


	44. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It was a nice enough day outside, that Eridan and Sollux decided that they would hang out in the garden together.

Eridan was relaxing in one of his deck-chairs, wearing only a pair of above the knee-length board shorts, and a pair of sunglasses; he had expressed the desire to get a little more tanned, and was determined to sit outside until he either turned a golden brown, or the sun went down.

Sollux, on the other hand, had dragged the giant parasol from the large garden table over to his own deck-chair. While Eridan tried to relax and soak up the rays, Sollux grumbled about the glare on his laptop screen, and how he would very likely burn even though he was wearing sun-screen.

"Damn it, ED," Sollux huffed as he shifted his own sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, "I didn't realithe it would be _thith_ warm out! Can't we go back inthide? It'th not good for an albino like me to be outthide in thith kind of weather."

"Okay, one, you're not a fuckin' albino... I prefer the term _'alabaster'_ , and two, not until I am a glorious shade a gold, no." Eridan turned his head a little towards Sollux, and listened to the furious tapping of keys. He frowned a little, and reached over lazily, touching the nerd's arm, "how come you're messin' around on that thing instead a relaxin' with me?"

This made Sollux sigh, a little annoyed, "becauthe, Eridan, I thtill haven't finished my courthe yet, remember?" He paused for a second, his hands finally coming to a stop, "I actually wanted to talk to you about that." His voice had become a little more serious, and had lost the almost playful anger that it usually had when he spoke to Eridan.

The Aquarius pulled his sunglasses off, and sat up, "oh right, what's up?" He asked.

Sollux stared into the brilliant blue eyes that were now watching him with their full attention; he loved the fact that Eridan barely wore his violet contact lenses anymore, "look, I know that you don't mean to do it, but you're pretty dithtracting, and I really have to focuth on my work..." His words became a little hesitant as he realised that there was a huge possibility that Eridan could take that the wrong way, and get extremely pissed off.

However, Eridan simply tilted his head a little, and nodded, "I understand, I mean, I kind a became a recluse for a few days when I had _my_ final weeks comin' up, don't worry about it."

"Tho... You don't _mind_ that I'd go back to my apartment then?"

"Sol, I'm pretty much better now, so you don't need to worry about me bein' alone, alright?" Eridan smiled and rolled his eyes, "you just let me know when you want me to drive you to yours, an I will." With that, he settled back against the deckchair, and popped his sunglasses back on.

Sollux was a little surprised with how easy that had been. He had expected some pouting, and childish whining before Eridan agreed that it would be best that Sollux leave, but the hipster had appeared to be pretty rational about it all.

They continued to relax together in the sunshine, and any time Sollux's brain drew a blank, and he couldn't think of the next line of code that he needed to type, he would reach over, and run a pale hand down his boyfriend's chest and stomach. As always, he was careful to be gentle, as the bruises were still there, although now they were a mottled, faded mix of yellow and brown, and appeared to be healing quite nicely.

When the sun finally began setting, and Sollux dared to venture out from under the protection of the parasol, they both went back inside the house and discussed what time Sollux would want to go home.

-.-.-

It was an inevitability that once again their Friday date day had to be cancelled. Eridan had picked Sollux up from College on Monday, and drove him, and the majority of his belongings, over to the apartment. They'd shared coffee, and had a brief chat before saying their goodbyes. It had been a little bittersweet, but Sollux had assured Eridan that it would only last two weeks, and after that they would have the entire summer to piss around in whatever way they saw fit.

After that, Eridan had smiled, and left. He returned to his now-empty home, and had settled in front of the fishtank to watch his beloved little Barbossa swim around with the other fish.

Eridan had done his best not to complain, at least not to Sollux anyway, but as the days ticked past, he found himself in need of someone to listen to him vent. So he called Feferi up at all hours, and whined about how lonely his house was now that it was devoid of the nerd who loved Honey Loops. It was, of course, the hardest thing in the world to be without his sarcastic lover, and Eridan moped around the house dramatically, especially when Feferi actually came round to keep him company on the Wednesday.

"Fef, you just don't even know!" Eridan said as he flopped down on the sofa, an arm resting ever-so-delicately across his forehead, "he's been here for so long that it's complete bee ess now that he's gone!"

To her credit, Feferi smiled patiently, "I know, but he's got his exams next week, hasn't he? And once that's out of the way, you two can spend the whole summer having lots of fun!"

Eridan simply groaned and tilted his head away, a little childishly, which caused his step-sister to roll her eyes in an exasperated manner. Of course, Eridan wanted to just revel in his morose attitude and misery; he'd always been like this, even as child.

"Oh come on, Mr. Grumpy Gills, stop with the complaining, it's only another week and a day! Then he won't be locked away at his house." Feferi reached across, and wrestled the arm away from Eridan's face, her voice straining with effort, "why don't you do somefin to keep your mind off him?"

This seemed to pique the hipster's interest, and he lifted his arm slightly to peer out from under it with one eye, "what do you mean, _'do somefin'_?" he asked, daring to look slightly hopeful at the possibilities.

After one last tug, Feferi managed to get the arm away from Eridan's head, "whale, it's been absolutely forever since _we've_ done somefin fun, so why don't we go somewhere just you and me?" She offered.

Eridan pursed his lips as he thought about it; it really _had_ been a long time since he and Feferi had gone away last, and to be quite honest, he missed their little getaways. After a second's pondering, he visibly perked up, "fine, let's fuckin' do it, Fef! Let's go somewhere an get our minds off Sol an his fuckin' codin', an when we get back Sol'll be done with college, an it'll be amazin'."

Feferi watched as the Aquarius leant over the side of the sofa to grab his laptop, and then they both began trawling over various travel sites to choose where they wanted to go.

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux glanced at his phone; it was now Tuesday, and to be honest, he was completely, and utterly, fed up of codes. He knew that this displeasure was only temporary, but still, it didn't change the fact that he only had two days until his Thursday exam, and that scared the shit out of him.

He had already been home for just over a week, and it was driving him insane. To be honest, he missed waking up with the pompous hipster draped over him, he missed having someone around him that seemed so intoxicated by him that they couldn't keep their hands to themselves, and he missed the snarky banter they shared constantly, too. To be honest, he just missed Eridan.

It had only been a week, but he already felt himself pining for the Aquarius in a way he'd never felt before.

Just as he was about to put his phone down, a tiny symbol popped up as he received yet another email.

"Fucking hell, ED." Sollux muttered as he opened the email to see photos of a hotel room, and a view of the beach from a window. It wasn't like the nerd was _jealous_ , or anything, he just hated the fact that Eridan and Feferi had only left on _Sunday_ , and he already had over _fifty_ photos in his inbox; this didn't bode well, as Eridan wasn't going to be back until Saturday, and that meant that Sollux would be drowning in stupid holiday shots by Thursday.

_Oh God, Thursday!_

Sollux groaned loudly, and brought his hands up to pull at his already-scruffy hair. He hated exams, and the knowledge that one was so close was nothing but stressful. The stress, and threat of failure, twisted around eachother like gnarled branches, and loomed over him, hissing in his ears that his whole future depended on this exam, and that he would let everyone down if he fucked up. The whispers and anxiety grew as Sollux pressed his forehead against his desk and clenched his eyes shut; the hushed voices rose in volume, and every little insecurity he hid in the deepest crevices in his brain were ripped out, and thrown into the open for Sollux to see.

What if he failed? What if he was laughed at? What if he couldn't even start the exam because he had an anxiety attack? What if everyone else passed, and he was the only one who didn't? What if his whole future was thrown off course, and-

Another thought hissed from the dark shroud of self deprecation that seemed to encompass his entire form. What if he let everyone down?

Sollux jumped as his phone buzzed next to his head. He sat up, and wiped his face with a hand, suddenly feeling very tired. A part of him hoped that the message was another ridiculous photo from Eridan, but he didn't hold his breath as Eridan wouldn't have text him, he would have emailed again.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was from his classmate, Roxy.

**'eyy if youre done studying we should go out for DRINKS togethre! come on ill bring some friends you bring some friends itll be fun!'**

Barely five seconds passed before Sollux received another text.

**'*together'**

Sollux sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose; he didn't mind Roxy's excitable nature, but it contrasted his own so much that it was sometimes a little hard to deal with. That being said, he was interested in her take on hacking, and she always seemed so far ahead of the rest of the class with her coding skills, that she was most definitely on-par with Sollux himself. It was because of this that he never really became too frustrated with her; it was nice to be in the presence of such like-minded company, even if they _were_ a little loud and bubbly.

He decided that he wouldn't be an asshole, and would instead text back.

**'hey, not today, i've got way too much shit to read and do, okay? maybe we can go after this shitstorm of an exam is over, and i've finished somersaulting myself into a pit of bullshit.'**

After rereading it once, Sollux thought that he may have seemed a little abrupt, but at the same time he was too tired to give a shit. He had barely even put down his phone when it buzzed another three times in quick succession; Sollux really had to hand it to her, Roxy could type bloody fast.

**'dw about it solluxander! ill text you again atfer the exam and we can totally go out then'**

**'omg bring your bf'**

**'cant wait to see you w a hangover lmao'**

Sollux simply sighed, and set the phone down on his desk once again; had Roxy always been the kind of person to give her friends weird nicknames out of some kind of affection? He didn't know, and as he stared at the computer screen in front of him, he found himself unable to care. The phone sat silently for less than a minute before vibrating once more.

"What _now_?" Sollux asked the phone, but didn't wait for an answer before lifting it and unlocking it, to see what Roxy had text him, although he expected that it would just be another spelling correction.

But it wasn't a message from Roxy.

It was from Aradia.

**'hey sollux i was just wondering if my last text went through unfortunately a few people havent been getting my messages so i thought id ask again if you would maybe want to come over and see my new place we can watch a film and hang out together**   
**oh! and good luck with your exam! im 200% sure youll do excellently'**

Sollux stared at the text, feeling a little unsure. He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to do in this situation, afterall, it wasn't like he _didn't_ want to be friends with her, it was just... Well to be quite honest, there was a strange pang that he felt in his chest whenever they spoke, and he didn't understand what it was, and he didn't know whether or not it was a _bad_ thing.

After a long, and drawn-out minute of lip-chewing, and hesitating, Sollux finally put his phone down, and pulled his large headphones over his ears to drown out any thoughts. The loud music did indeed block out all sounds, and after a minute or two, he couldn't really concentrate on anything but the coding, and revision, in front of him.

Dealing with the text would have to be another problem for another day.

-.-.-.-.-

The exam was over.

Sollux left the exam hall with conflicted attitudes buzzing around his head; on one hand he felt overjoyed, and an almost overwhelming amount of relief, but on the other hand he was trapped between the feeling that he did perfectly on the exam, while also believing that he had done something so badly that he was sure to be marked low enough to warrant a fail.

He noticed that there was a small group of his classmates forming outside the hall, and he hurried past before-

"Sooollux!"

Too late.

Sollux turned around to see a golden-skinned girl waving him over; her peroxide blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders as she waved excitedly. He gave a half-arsed wave back, and was about to make his escape, when she broke free of the tired-looking group, and sped over.

"Hey, Roxthy." He said, still trying to look at least _slightly_ chipper.

Roxy beamed at him, "hey! You looked like you was about to bolt there!" She folded her arms across her chest, hiding the hot-pink kitten face that adorned her white shirt from view, "so, how do you think you did in there?"

"Oh God, you know me, I'm perpetually thtuck between knowing that I kick tho much ath that it should be illegal, and thinking that I failed worthe than thome drunk ath-hole trying to backflip off hith own roof." Sollux shrugged, "but I gueth I'm pretty sure I did well."

As she listened, Roxy nodded, and gave little waves to other classmates as they walked past. Damn social butterfly. She continued to smile brightly, then reached for his shoulder, and shook him in a friendly way, "come on! Cheer up!" Her eyes seemed to glint as she spoke, "I just happen to have the most cunning, and amazing, of plans ever to send everyone off to the rest of their lives, with like, a _bang_!"

Sollux gulped as he was shook back and forth by the shorter female, "wait, Roxthy, when you thay 'bang', you don't literally mean... _'Bang'_... Do you?" He asked, knowing full-well that Roxy always seemed to have access to anything, and everything.

"No! Well... No, not _this_ time, anyway..." Roxy looked ever so slightly hesitant, but finally stopped shaking Sollux in favour of running her perfectly painted, hot-pink nails through her blonde hair, "I don't think anyone would come to another one of my parties if I had access to any explosives... _Again_."

They both looked at eachother, and shared a moment of silence to remember the last party Roxy had arranged, which had ended with one of their classmate's hair being lit on fire by a sparkler when Roxy had set off a multitude of fireworks nearby. Since then, no one had dared to come to any event in which there would be even the slightest chance that Roxy would have access to pyrotechnics of any kind.

Roxy flapped a hand, and grinned sheepishly, "anyway, that's all in the past! And let's not forget that hair grows back!" Her optimism truly was a thing to marvel, "besides, this time I promise that there'll only be alcohol, and fun! No fire, or explosives... Although I'm thinking maybe we have some kind of costume thing... I don't know. Look, it's going to be huge, but I don't know what date it'll be, so keep an eye on your phone, and I'll probably text you tomorrow, or something... Oh my God, Sollux, I want to see you getting completed pissed!" She seemed absolutely thrilled at the possibility, and Sollux couldn't help but roll his eyes in resignation.

"Yeah, yeah, alright, if there'th not too many ath-holeth going, I'll come." He agreed.

"Sollux, you're the biggest asshole I know, so you're filling my asshole-quota." Roxy punched his arm with probably a little more force than she actually meant to, "but I will definately see you there, oh, and bring some cute friends too! Now, excuse me while I catch some more of these peeps before they try and run off, without giving me the chance to invite them to my little soiree. Bye, Sollux!" With that, she turned and skipped off towards a few more classmates, with an ecstatic look on her face.

Sollux watched her for a second, with the slightest hint of a smile; it was hard to be negative around someone so peppy. After the slightest hesitation, he returned to his previous course of action, and walked off in the direction of home.

-.-.-

"Wait, Roxy's having a party, and you've actually agreed to go?" Karkat asked, taking a swig from a bottle of beer.

Sollux rolled his eyes, and lifted his own bottle to his lips, feeling nothing but pleased about the fact that his best friend had remembered to actually put the alcohol in the _fridge_ this time. After swallowing the mouthful of cool, amber liquid, he sighed, "yeah, well, I gueth her partieth aren't completely horrific... You know, ath long ath it'th not _your_ head that thomehow getth lit on fire." He shrugged, and set the now empty bottle down on the table in front of him, "bethideth, my betht friend forever will be accompanying me."

After snorting, Karkat shook his head, "you're a complete dickshit for signing me up for something without asking me first, and you're just lucky that I actually fucking _enjoy_ Roxy's shitstorm parties." He drained his own bottle, and set it down next to Sollux's.

When Sollux had arrived home, he had been surprised at the door by Gamzee holding a lop-sided chocolate cake, and Karkat holding open the door to their tall fridge, revealing two whole shelves of beers.

So far it was proving to be the best celebration for finishing his course that he could have asked for, and there was only one thing missing.

Or at least, there _was_ only one thing missing, until the pizzas were delivered.

With his second bottle of beer in hand, Sollux relaxed on the sofa, and watched the television screen, as Gamzee and Karkat played an old fighting game. He couldn't help but laugh as Karkat proudly puffed out his chest, the moment he won.

"That's what you get when you choose your character because he has a fucking hat, you shit-shovelling ass-munch." Karkat yelled, pointing dramatically at Gamzee, who simply nodded in his own, lazy fashion.

"Couldn't help myself," Gamzee grinned, setting the controller down on the table, "that motherfucker looked so damn mirthful in his little tophat, I felt like he wanted to be all involved with our little match, you know?"

Karkat stared at the lanky man incredulously, "no, I _don't_ know. I literally don't have a single fucking clue what goes on in that empty head of yours, Gamzee." He turned his attention to Sollux, and nodded towards the controller, "want a game?"

This made the corners of Sollux's mouth turn upwards, "KK, you theriouthly don't want to get into thith again. It'll end the thame way it alwayth doeth," he leant forwards and grabbed the controller, "I'll choothe Alithe or Foxth, and you'll thtick with Yugo, and you'll get all pithy when I hand your ath to you on a golden platter of humiliation." He smirked up at the screen, and decided to go with Alice; mostly because it was always funny to see the little bunny-girl kick the shit out of the large wolf-man.

"Fuck off, it's going to be _me_ who's serving up _your_ ass on a fucking platter, just you watch." Karkat leant forward, and rolled his shoulders to loosen them up.

Of course, the match ended in next to no time, with Sollux cackling loudly, and Karkat screeching obnoxiously.

"YOU FECULENT, FROTHING ASSHOLE! YOU CHEATED!" The shorter man shouted, throwing the controller down onto his own lap, and then doubling over when the realisation hit him that he'd just smacked himself in the balls.

Sollux waited a few minutes, although this was less to do with common courtesy for his best friend, and more to do with the fact that he was laughing so hard he thought he was going to black-out.

After both men had finally caught their breaths back, and Gamzee had returned from the kitchen with a handful of frozen chicken nuggets for Karkat to place on his lap, they decided that maybe Bloody Roar _wasn't_ the right game for them to be playing at that moment in time.

Karkat dropped the chicken nuggets onto the table, and wiped the moisture from his hands on his jeans, wincing every time he moved, "so, when's your fancy bitch of a boyfriend returning to your arms?" He asked, still frowning slightly as he watched Sollux.

"Thunday, but you'd think that he wouldn't be home for a fucking month with the amount of pictureth he'th been thending me." Sollux pulled his phone out of his pocket, and began flicking through all the photos he'd been sent by Eridan, but angled the phone away from Karkat as he grinned at the few that Feferi had sent him.

His new favourites included one of Eridan looking glorious as he left the pool, and another where he had fallen asleep, and Feferi had drawn a dick on his cheek.

The rest of the evening trickled by, and eventually all the pizza, and misshapen cake, was polished off. The three men continued to play their video games until the early hours of the morning, and only stopped when Sollux stretched, and announced that he needed to go to sleep because he had plans for the morning.

"Whatever, Sollux," Karkat said as he rubbed his eyes, and yawned, "does it have something to do with that holiday thing you've got planned?"

Sollux glanced over at Gamzee, and realised that the lanky stoner had been asleep for God knows how long, "kind of, well, not really," he shrugged, and grabbed his phone, quickly tapping away at the screen for a minute before handing it to Karkat, "check it out, KK, the hotel hath a thpa and everything. ED'th going to flip hith fucking nut when he get'th home on Thunday." The feeling of pride flooded his chest as he listened to the slow, impressed whistle the shorter man made as he flicked through the pictures.

"Shit, I never expected _you'd_ ever want to go to France," Karkat smiled slightly, and leant back against the sofa cushions, watching his best friend with a raised eyebrow, "you've really got it bad for Eridan, don't you?"

On any other day, this comment would have made Sollux roll his eyes and come up with some kind of scathing and sarcastic comment, but after drinking a few bottles of beer he was in a slightly better mood, "yeah, I really do." He said quietly, tracing the outline of a small scratch on his phone lightly with the tip of a finger.

This made Karkat nod, and he stood up before clapping Sollux on the shoulder in a friendly manner, "this is usually the point where I'd call you both soppy, blithering shit-rags, or maybe even lovelorn, ass-wrangling pisslips," he somehow said fondly, "but I'm happy for you. It's about time you and Eridan both had someone to be all crazy about."

Sollux watched as Karkat stepped over to Gamzee, and slapped him across the head to wake him up.

After Gamzee had waddled sleepily over to the staircase, Karkat turned back to the nerd, "try not to lose Eridan in Paris, fuck knows that he'll run off the moment he sees something sparkly." He started to walk up the stairs, then paused again, "you know, it's good to see you looking so happy, too."

Without waiting for a reply, Karkat disappeared up the stairs, leaving Sollux to his own thoughts.

Sollux thought about Eridan as he looked through the images of the hotel he had booked for the week-long surprise holiday, which he'd been secretly planning for the past two weeks. He smiled slightly, and continued to flick back and forth through the photos he'd already looked at so much, they were imprinted somewhere in his brain.

It was going to be the most cliche, and romantic thing Eridan had ever experienced... Or at least that was what Sollux was hoping anyway; he usually hated this kind of crap, but he didn't mind too much because it was for Eridan, and that made it all worthwhile. All he wanted was to see the look of surprise on the hipster's face when he showed him their destination for their next date day. This was going to blow Thorpe Park out of the water.

There was just one thing he needed to do first.

-.-.-

Sollux stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and pulled out his phone to check the time once again. It was already 10:43AM. He groaned, then covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned loudly.

He was halfway through a particularly satisfying yawn when he felt a finger being jabbed into his back, "fuck!" He yelled, and spun around.

"Sorry I'm late!" Aradia giggled, and linked her arm with Sollux's, "I saw something in a charity-shop window, and just _had_ to get it!"

"I dread to think what the piethe of crap you jutht bought ith," Sollux allowed Aradia to steer him in a direction, and drag him a little, "but I'm sure ath shit not going to tell you how to thpend your own money." He tried to force himself to yawn again, but it didn't feel anywhere near as good as it had before Aradia shocked him into stopping.

Sollux allowed his mind to wander as they walked together, and wondered whether he had made the right choice by agreeing to have a film-day with Aradia, but he remembered how excited she had sounded when he agreed, and it wasn't as if _he_ wasn't looking forward to hanging out with her, too.

Aradia simply continued pulling Sollux in the right directions, leading him through the outskirts of town until they finally got to a small door situated between two shops.

"Here we are!" Aradia exclaimed as she unlocked the door, and led Sollux inside.

Aradia's apartment was a little small, but it seemed to be large enough to accommodate both Aradia and her flat-mate.

Sollux snorted as he looked at around the living room, as there were taxidermied animals all over the place; deer heads mounted on the walls, small birds and rodents on shelves, and a weird piece on the table that involved a mongoose fighting a cobra.

"My, what a lovely room of death." Sollux mused.

"Why thank you, I use antlers in all of my decorating." Aradia replied as she hung her small bag around one of the mounted deer-heads necks, and began rifling through it. After a moment she carefully pulled out a small taxidermied bird, and then placed it next to another that looked almost identical.

Sollux stepped over, and leant closer to look at the tiny birds; it was so strange to see something look so alive, and yet be frozen like this. He could almost imagine their little chests moving, and it honestly felt like they would spread their wings and fly off at any second.

Aradia leant closer too, and nudged Sollux playfully, "are you having fun admiring my tits?"

"What!? No, I wath looking at the birdth, I- what?" Sollux turned a little pink, and glanced between the dead animals, and Aradia, who was now a giggling mess.

"The birds are called _blue tits_! Oh my god!" She choked out desperately between snorts. Once she had calmed down, she looked at Sollux, winked, and made a double-pistols gesture.

Eventually they both settled on the couch to watch a film together, and after a brief conflict about which film to watch, Sollux finally gave in and allowed Aradia to put Indiana Jones on. It was a good thing she had bought popcorn, or he never would have stayed for it.

While Aradia sat in awe of the archaeologist on the television, Sollux munched his way through handfuls of sweet, toffee-covered popcorn.

They were both pretty quiet, until Aradia turned to look at Sollux with a soft smile, "thanks for coming round to hang out with me."

Sollux nudged his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, "oh, uhh, thankth for having me round." He replied as he stared into Aradia's wide, brown eyes, and glanced down at her wine-red lips. He swallowed a lump in his throat as she shuffled ever so slightly closer to him, and he watched as she leant her head against his shoulder, gave him one last smile, and then returned her gaze to the screen.

It pissed Sollux off that he couldn't put his finger on how he was feeling, and he continued to furrow his eyebrows. This gloomy expression would have continued if not for the fact that his phone buzzed in his pocket; he gave Aradia an almost-apologetic grin, then checked the message.

It was a photo from Feferi.

Eridan was stood in a brand new pair of white skinny-jeans, and a fully-unbuttoned, pale blue shirt. He was frowning at a small, golden trinket in front of a stall, and Sollux smiled at the familiar way the hipster's eyebrows knitted together when he thought about something. Not to mention the fact that Eridan was looking phenomenal, with an incredible tan.

**')(ey Sollux! I )(ope youre -EXCITED about me and -Eridan getting )(ome! )(es been looking for t)(e perfect gift for you, but you didnt )(ear that from me. 38)**   
**You know, )(e )(asnt s)(ut up about you since we got )(ere, and if I didnt like you, id probably find it terribubbly annoying! Glub glub glub.**   
**Oh w)(ale, sea you soon!'**

Sollux read the text twice, before putting his phone away. He sighed as he finally realised that he was being the biggest idiot that the world had ever produced, and with a quiet sigh he finally decided to tell Aradia the truth, because it wasn't fair on her, and it sure as fuck wasn't fair on Eridan.

"AA?" He said, but his words dissolved in his mouth, as Aradia slunk onto his lap in one, swift motion. The nerd's eyes widened, and flicked downwards to look at her dark,ruby lips, and even lower to take in, and appreciate, her full and curvy figure.

Sollux's mind went almost completely blank; the only thought that remained was that he could smell earth, and roses, and that Aradia's lips were even softer than he remembered.


	45. Regretting It All

Sollux settled down on his bed, and leant back against the plush pillows. He flipped open the cardboard lid to his pizza, and smiled at Eridan, "tho, you dethided to thurprithe me with takeaway again?" He said, lifting a particularly meat-covered slice up to his lips, and taking a large bite.

The image of Eridan on his laptop-screen froze for a second, and Sollux huffed. He waited quietly, and watched as Eridan finally started moving again; it was such a pain to talk to his boyfriend like this, especially seeing as the Aquarius' hotel internet connection was so shit.

Since Eridan had gone on his holiday, they had only really had time for two skype conversations, and Sollux hadn't really been too invested in them, considering the fact that he had been too busy with college work, but he had felt the pang in his chest that made him realise just how much he missed his idiot-boyfriend, so he had instigated a call, and as always, Eridan had been more than willing to participate.

"Fuckin' signal! Fuck, anyway, you're damn right I did," Eridan finally replied, resting his chin against a hand, "I know that you can't feed yourself, an I figured that since I bought you a pizza right before you cracked that website, it was some kind a lucky charm for you, or somethin'. I thought it might help you with this exam you got tomorrow." He ran his free hand through his hair, and Sollux watched as the window on his own laptop wiggled a little as Eridan adjusted the angle of the screen.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that it wath _Domino'th_ that gave me the inthpiration to beat the thite, and not my own intelligenthe, you dickhead." Sollux couldn't help but roll his eyes, he knew that his boyfriend was trying to joke, but it really only made the hipster sound arrogant. Regardless of this, he appreciated the sentiment, and took another bite as his stomach began growling quite loudly.

Eridan watched in silence for a few seconds, obviously lost in thought, and then finally spoke, "Sol, are you nervous about the exam?" He asked, a small crease appearing between his dark eyebrows.

"Not really, I mean, thith ith pretty much the only thing I'm good at, tho I'm fairly confident in the fact that I can do thith in my thleep if I wanted to," Sollux picked a slice of pepperoni off his pizza, and nibbled it, before hesitantly adding, "but at the thame time, I _might_ be a little worried that I'm going to fuck up, and fail. It'th like I thaid, thith ith my only talent, and if I fall short with it, then I really am a worthleth fuck-up, huh?" There was no use lying to Eridan, even though the hipster was pretty self-obsessed, he was also probably the person who cared the most about him and his well-being.

Once again, Eridan fell silent, and looked as though he was contemplating what to say next. Then he smiled, "well first thing's first, let's be honest here, there's no way in hell you're ever goin' to fail anythin', Sol. You're far too fuckin' smart an talented, an this is your forte, so you'll ace it with flyin' colours," Eridan shrugged, and quirked an eyebrow, "but you know, codin' ain't your only talent. You're evidently pretty good at doin' other things too..."

Sollux snorted loudly, and shook his head, "ED, you're an ath-hole who thinkth with hith dick." He shifted a little to cross his legs, and get more comfortable, then watched as Eridan laughed, and swallowed a lump in his throat, "tho... Are you having fun with FF?"

"Well obviously, I mean we're right next to the sea, an I'm lovin' the fact that we can go shoppin' in all these new shops that I've never been in before," Eridan's smile faltered, and he looked almost apologetic, "but I miss you. It's weird, but I thought that seein' as it was only goin' to be about a week without seein' you, I'd be okay, but I'm missin' you like crazy." He leant back in his chair, and tilted it back a little.

"Yeah, yeah, I mith you too, you tit." Sollux had taken the chance to stuff his face with as much pizza as he could while Eridan had been talking, and was struggling to speak with his mouth so full. The nerd held up a hand to stop Eridan from saying anything else, and chewed as quickly as he could, making sure not to make eye-contact with the disgusted hipster. With the food finally swallowed, Sollux continued, "I wath thinking that when you got back, me and you could do thomething thpecial? Maybe thpend the day in bed, and then go out together?" He smiled to himself, and thought about how surprised Eridan was going to be when he revealed the holiday he had planned, and booked.

Eridan looked positively delighted at this plan, and nodded, "holy shit, Sol, I could spend a whole _week_ just loungin' in bed with you," he sighed, and stretched his arms above his head, groaning slightly, "which is exactly what I think we should do the minute I get home, because I'm not goin' to be able to keep my hands off you."

This made Sollux laugh again, "don't tempt me, ED. I'm already conthidering taking a whole month off from work to hang out with you." With a mock-stern voice, he jokingly added, "and I hope you're not filling that hole in your... _Heart_... by getting it on with all of thothe tanned, and buff, beach guyth."

"Sol! While I appreciate the fact that you refrained from makin' an ass joke there, I'll have you know that none a the guys here can hold a candle to my nerdy, fuckwit of a boyfriend," Eridan covered his mouth to stifle a yawn, "anyway, I'll leave you to it, I'm fuckin' knackered, an I've got to get to bed so me an Fef can wake up early to go shoppin'. Oh, an good luck with that exam tomorrow. I know you'll get a perfect score."

"That thoundth incredibly boring, but have fun with that, ED." Sollux threw a pizza crust into the box, and wiped his hand on his shirt, "I'll thee you Thunday, and I exthpect the biggetht thouvenir you got."

Eridan rolled his eyes, and nodded, "yes, yes, Sol, you'll get the best present, don't you fuckin' worry about that!" His expression softened, "I love you, Sol."

"I love you too, ED."

-.-.-

Sollux didn't know why his brain had insisted on replaying _that_ memory, but he wasn't given much time to think about the logistics of it, as every memory he had of his beloved hipster was thrown around his mind in an erratic display; all their date days, and days spent in bed playing video games together, every reassuring embrace, and chaste kiss, were all forced in front of his mind's eye in a split second. He could almost hear every single whispered confession of love and affection, and it made his heart surge, because in that fleeting moment, despite the position he was in, Sollux could only think of one person.

_Eridan_.

He didn't give a shit about the fact that Aradia was on his lap, pressing her lips against him. The only thing that crossed his mind, was the rapturous feeling of love that he felt for his pompous, arrogant, beautiful hipster.

A thought suddenly became very clear to Sollux, and it felt like the cleanest water was finally washing away the mud in his mind. He had always clung to the hope that one day he and Aradia would make up, and go back to how things once were, but that was because he loved familiarity and for things to stay the same; the way that their relationship had ended had been so abrupt, that Sollux realised that he hadn't allowed himself to come to terms with it.

That's why he had agreed to see her again. It was because he was selfish, and hadn't been able to get over her.

But he didn't love her, and he hadn't for quite some time.

The feelings that he had tried to deny even existing was a long-forged affection, but in no way anything more than that. To be quite honest, the reason he hadn't realised this sooner was probably _because_ he hadn't allowed himself to actually think about it.

Sollux loved Eridan, and the fact that Aradia was on his lap right at this second because of mistakes that the nerd had made was unacceptable. He should have done something sooner.

He blinked slowly as reality came back into focus, and he couldn't do anything other than stare at Aradia as she moved back a little.

"Sollux?" She asked, frowning slightly and bringing a hand up to gently touch the nerd's hand, "why did you cover your mouth?"

To be quite honest, Sollux hadn't even registered the fact that his hand was clamped across his nose and mouth, and he slowly pulled it away. There was a light, lipstick imprint on the back of his hand, and Sollux couldn't help but thank his instincts for being quicker than him; unfortunately, the fact that he had prevented Aradia from kissing him properly didn't do anything to quell the feeling of guilt that was crashing over him in waves. He had betrayed Eridan.

Aradia quickly touched his forehead, "my God, Sollux, you look as if you're about to throw up, are you alright?" She watched as Sollux's lips formed soundless words, "Sollux, I can't hear you."

Whatever she was saying was lost on Sollux. He shook his head, and pressed his fists to his eyes.

"AA, I have a boyfriend."

Aradia's reaction was instantaneous; she leapt up, and covered her mouth with her own hands, "I am so sorry! Oh my God, I thought... I didn't... Oh my God!" She genuinely looked horrified at her own actions, and her eyebrows curved upwards, "Sollux, I wouldn't have done that if I had known, I didn't know, I'm so sorry."

Sollux nodded, and sighed, "I didn't tell you about him, tho it'th _my_ fault." He honestly believed this. He should have told Aradia the truth from the start, but instead he had pretty much led her on.

He felt like the worst person the world had ever produced.

After a brief silence, Aradia finally sat down on the sofa, next to Sollux. She lowered her hands, and reached out to pat Sollux's shoulder, "I'm sorry." She said again.

Sollux nodded in response, "tho am I." He mumbled quietly.

They shared a slightly awkward silence, before Aradia perked up a little, "so what's he like?" She elbowed him playfully, and winked, "I want all the details, my friend!"

This actually made Sollux crack a small smile; he accepted the insistent nudges to his ribs, and even managed to laugh a little, "he'th actually Eridan Ampora, that ath-hole from highthchool."

"Wait, _Eridan Ampora_? Didn't you two _hate_ eachother?" Aradia asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Oh hell yeah, we did. But we met by complete chanthe, and got talking, and he'th not thuch a big douchebag afterall." Sollux paused for a moment, "well, okay he'th thtill a douchebag, but he'th got good qualitieth too."

Aradia nodded knowingly, "well, I hope that one of his good qualities is that he's got a big d-"

"AA!"

"What!?" Aradia smirked, as innocently as she could manage, "I was obviously going to say _'dog'_ , get your damn mind out of the gutter, Sollux Captor!"

Sollux rolled his eyes, and shoved her gently, "you're full of shit." He snorted as Aradia pushed her palm against his face, and squashed his cheek.

"So," Aradia began, her voice coy and playful, "how _did_ you and _Eridan Ampora_ get together then? And what do you like best about him?"

"Well if you thtopped fucking around with my fathe, I'll tell you." Once the hand had been removed from his cheek, Sollux shrugged, "like I thaid, we met by accthident, and we jutht went out and got a burger together, and then we mutht have dithcovered that we found eachother'th ath-holish behaviour more endearing than we otherwithe thought." He thought back fondly, and remembered that he had thrown half a pack of Jaffa Cakes at Eridan, a whole two minutes after trading phone numbers. He sighed, and ran his thumb over his bottom lip, "and I gueth, if I had to choothe what I like betht about him, I'd have to thay... Fuck, I don't even know. I mean, he'th thmart in areath that I'm not, like hithtory and shit like that, and he actually lookth pretty fucking good... Like, conthtantly... Oh, and hith artwork ith fucking incredible, and he'th tho detheptive, you know? Like, I alwayth thought that he wath jutht thome kind of pompouth dickshit, when he actually had a whole load of shit going on in hith life, and yet he'th thtill _him_. You know?"

To her credit, Aradia listened silently, and nodded at appropriate times, to show that she was still listening.

Sollux could feel himself smiling a little more, "and holy fuck, he planth thuch fun dateth, and he includeth Tuna, and I'll tell you what, Tuna fucking loveth the shit out of him!" He felt his chest swell slightly with pride.

"And all those wonderful things are wrapped up in a nice package of adorable hipster, huh?" Aradia mused, "then I guess it's no wonder that you're so crazy about him."

Sollux hesitated for a second, but this was only because he had averted his eyes out of embarrassment for the colour his cheeks had most likely turned, "AA, I really fucking am." He linked his fingers together, and stared at his own feet, "I've done a thpinning pirouette off the highboard, and I'm in too deep to thtop anymore. I fucking love him."

The expression that Aradia had on her face was nothing but happy. She made an excitedly cheerful noise, and slapped his arm, "Sollux Captor! You lovestruck little puppy! That's amazing!" She grabbed him into a friendly hug, and lowered her voice to a more acceptable level, "I'm so happy for you, honestly I am. This is the most brilliant news ever."

The film had been completely forgotten, and after thanking her quietly, Sollux wrapped his arms around Aradia, and realised that the hole he had felt in his chest since seeing he had started seeing her again, had finally disappeared.

He had his friend back, and everything felt right again.

-.-.-

It was strange; since leaving Aradia's apartment, Sollux couldn't describe how he felt. On one hand, he was feeling pretty good because he and Aradia had finally worked out their relationship, and had become genuine friends again. On the other hand, Sollux was livid with himself for allowing himself to believe that he was stil harbouring _romantic_ feelings for her, and for going on all the dates with her because of this.

Sollux finally forced himself to admit that he had imagined more than one situation where he would end up somehow romantically involved with Aradia, and this made him feel sick to his stomach. He knew that each one had only been a fleeting 'what-if' kind of thought, but even so, it made him feel like the worst piece of shit the world had ever produced.

Then again, maybe that self-deprecating nugget of an opinion was correct; maybe he really _was_ the worst piece of shit that the whole fucking universe had created. Then again, maybe he should just cut himself a break, and accept the fact that nothing had happened, and he and Aradia were just friends.

Afterall, that's what he'd been telling himself the whole time.

Sollux allowed these thoughts to dissipate, and hoped that they would stop lingering and festering in his mind, especially now that he had worked through them. He approached the front door to his own apartment building, and lifted his keys; there wasn't even enough time for Sollux to react before the door suddenly swung inwards, and the person behind it leapt onto him.

"WHAT THE SHIT!?" For a second it felt as though his heart had stopped, as he had been so lost in thought that the sudden onslaught of kisses had honestly scared the shit out of him. Sollux pulled back a little, and stared into the familiar, crisp blue eyes of his boyfriend, "Eridan!?"

Eridan beamed back at the Gemini, and nodded, "surprise!"

There was a moment of complete silence, which was only really punctuated by Eridan making a quiet, excited noise in anticipation for Sollux's reaction.

Sollux's body eventually caught up with his brain, and he wrapped his arms around the hipster tightly. They simply stood together, laughing at the fact that they had both missed eachother; it meant so much to them to finally have the other to hold once again.

It was Eridan who pulled away first, "I missed you so fuckin' much, Sol." He mumbled, before grabbing the front of Sollux's shirt, and dragging him backwards into the corridor, and then into the apartment. The door check was done with only one hand, as Eridan refused to let go of Sollux, but the moment he was satisfied that the door was locked, he continued to pull Sollux in the direction he wanted.

As they stumbled along, they tried to catch eachother's lips with chaste kisses, and eventually came to a brief stop when Eridan pushed Sollux against the wall next to the staircase, and pressed himself against him.

Sollux tried to arrange his thoughts in a way that would allow him to ask Eridan what the hell he was doing back from his holiday so early, but he didn't want to interrupt, and besides, his lips were otherwise preoccupied. He made a small noise of confusion when Eridan pulled away yet again, and he finally opened his eyes to watch as the hipster in front of him reached up and removed the sunglasses that Sollux had been wearing.

Eridan leant down to place the glasses on the stairs, but didn't straighten up. He glanced up at the mismatched eyes for a split second, then leant forwards to press an open-mouthed kiss to the front of Sollux's jeans. The fingers that were suddenly trailing across his scalp were anything but gentle, but instead of being pissed off about the possibility of his hair being messed up, Eridan leant against them, and hummed softly; after the feeling of fingertips became insistent pressure of Sollux's palms urging his head forwards, Eridan grabbed hold of the nerd's slender hips, and pulled himself upwards, making sure to keep their bodies pressed closely against one another.

The once-rushed kisses melted into something more slow, and they both took the time to explore eachother's bodies with soft touches. Eridan reached for his own zipper, but before he could unbutton his ridiculously tight jeans, Sollux grabbed his hand, and began pulling him upstairs.

As much as fucking on the stairs would have been a whole barrel of fun, Sollux was very conscious of the fact that either Karkat or Gamzee could march through the front door at any time, and spoil the mood.

Sollux grinned as Eridan began pulling at his arm to make him walk up the stairs faster, "what'th the rush, ED?" He asked, earning himself a scowl. When Eridan didn't answer, he decided to push it again, and tried to walk slower, "why don't we watch a movie, or thomething? I'm juth _ever tho_ tired." This wasn't true in the slightest, but it was very entertaining for Sollux to see the hipster getting so pissed off; he really _had_ missed the way that they always playfully annoyed eachother.

Unfortunately, Eridan didn't seem to see the funny side to this banter, and he huffed, "Sol, I swear to God, I will kick your ass if you keep jokin' like that." He made a surprised noise as Sollux suddenly dropped to the ground a few meters from his bedroom door, "SOL!"

Sollux curled up on the floor, and yanked Eridan down on top of him, quickly wrapping his arms around the hipster before he could react, "oh dear, I'm _tho_ tired, I think I need to thleep right at thith exthact thecond." This statement was punctuated by some obnoxiously loud, and very fake-sounding, snoring.

"You little shit! Let go a me, an stop makin' that God-awful noise right in my ear!" Eridan hissed, pushing Sollux's face away from his own and groaning loudly, "way to ruin what could a been a romantic reunion, you immature little fuck nugge-" His words were silenced as Sollux suddenly kissed him. Thankfully for Sollux, Eridan's bodies natural response kicked in, and he melted into the kiss, instantly forgetting why he was even mad in the first place.

After what could have been moments, or millenia, Sollux finally loosened his grip on Eridan, and moved his hands over the hipster's chest; he smiled into the kiss as Eridan seemed to relax on top of him, and he couldn't help but move his hips forward in a shallow motion.

Without giving Sollux much chance to react, Eridan gripped the bottom of his shirt, and wrenched it above their heads; Sollux blinked in a bewildered fashion, and watched as Eridan sat up a little, and followed suit, pulling his own shirt off. It was very obvious which one of them had just been enjoying a sun-drenched holiday, and which one had been locked away in a room with only the light of a monitor to chase away the complete darkness.

Eridan trailed feather-light kisses down Sollux's neck, and then began a slow descent down his chest and stomach; when he reached Sollux's hip bones, the Gemini tried to buck his hips upwards, but found himself unable. Eridan grinned cruelly, and held Sollux's waist against the floor; he watched as Sollux attempted to writhe underneath him, but it was all in vain.

Sollux kept trying to force his hips upwards to reach Eridan's soft lips, but his feet couldn't get proper purchase on the floor, and his legs were in a slightly awkward position because of the hipster lying between them, and keeping them spread. He covered his eyes with an arm when he felt his jeans, and boxers, being pulled down.

"Sol, look at me."

The command was quiet, and Sollux couldn't help but respond to it. He sat up just a little, and propped himself up on his elbows, then looked down at Eridan.

The hipster stared up at him with lidded eyes, "I love you." He murmured, stroking Sollux's erection slowly; he averted his eyes, before closing them, and then slowly ran his tongue up the length.

It was torturous for Sollux to lie there, as Eridan teased him by moving so slowly, and Sollux couldn't move his hips. He wanted to thrust up into his boyfriend's warm mouth, but Eridan seemed more interested in trailing his tongue around the tip, than swallowing any amount of the length.

"Damn it, ED." Sollux muttered. He wanted to look away, but he was completely unable to tear his eyes away from the glorious sight in front of him.

Sollux's face felt as though it was burning as he watched Eridan. He shifted his weight onto one elbow, and then reached forwards to place a hand on the hipster's head; after running his fingers through the ridiculously purple chunk of hair, he rested his palm on the back of Eridan's head, and pushed him downwards; Sollux relished in the way that his boyfriend's lips parted, and the way that his tongue seemed to glide against the underside of his dick, and even the glorious heat. The moan that escaped his lips was completely involuntary, but as Eridan dipped his head lower, instead of pulling away, Sollux found himself in a blissful state of not caring about how he sounded.

When Sollux's breathing became a little ragged, Eridan pushed himself away, and ran a thumb across his own bottom lip. Without saying a word, he stood up, and removed his own jeans, and boxers; then pulled a small, blue sachet out of his pocket, before throwing the clothing aside.

Sollux sat up as Eridan returned to his lap, and carefully tore the sachet open. The Gemini was a little confused until he saw a familiar logo, and the clear liquid seeping out of the top; he was about to make a joke about not getting the lube mixed up with ketchup, when he froze. Eridan had slicked up his own fingers, and reached behind himself.

The quiet gasps and sighs that the hipster produced were enough to have Sollux's heart fluttering rapidly in his chest; he watched, enthralled, as Eridan prepared himself.

When Eridan pressed his forehead against Sollux's, Sollux couldn't help but close the gap, and kiss him quickly. This affectionate action soon turned a little more desperate, as Eridan's hips bucked as a reflex; he gasped as Sollux bit down on his lip, and quickly pulled his fingers out of himself.

Once Sollux's erection had been slicked up, Sollux gripped Eridan's thighs and started to pull him down; Eridan didn't need any assistance though, he quickly sank himself onto Sollux's lap, and groaned as Sollux filled him perfectly.

They moved together, and whispered sweet nothings to one another, and for once, it was Sollux who was slightly more affectionate; pressing gentle kisses to Eridan's throat, and shoulders, whereas Eridan was a little rougher, and tugged at Sollux's hair.

The absence had made them both appreciate eachother's company so much more, and as Eridan arched his back to help Sollux reach that perfect spot inside him, they both groaned loudly.

There was the slightest hint of desperation in their movements; it was almost as if the world would end, and this would somehow be their last night together. Their kisses became a little wilder, and Eridan used his teeth more than usual; he nipped and bit Sollux's tongue and lips, never once stopping the wonderful rocking of his hips.

Sollux brought a hand up, and clenched a fist in Eridan's hair; he yanked the Aquarius' head back, and sucked a patch of his neck. He pulled back, and would have admired the bruise, but his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as Eridan suddenly moved up, then dropped his hips down in a short, sharp motion that left him breathless.

Eridan keened a little as he moved, and he made a sob-like noise when Sollux moved his own hips upwards to meet him, "Sol! Oh God! Oh God!" He arched his back more, and leant his head back to cry out loudly, hardly caring about any of the noises he was producing.

It was almost as if Eridan was stuck on repeat, as he whispered Sollux's name like some kind of mantra, again and again, always in time with their erratic movements.

Sollux could only guess from the way that Eridan was speaking, that the hipster was nearing some kind of peak. He grinned, and put his arms around his boyfriend, and lifted him a little, before laying him down on his back, and taking charge. He planted his hands on the hipster's waist, and began snapping his hips forwards.

"Don't- oh fuck, Sol- don't stop! Please! Oh!"

There was no way in hell that Sollux was about to stop. He clamped his own mouth shut to keep himself from making any noise, and tried to focus on making his boyfriend scream so loudly that the neighbours would get pissed off.

As Eridan moaned, and dragged the nails of one hand down Sollux's back, he reached for himself, and began stroking. It didn't take much before his moans began hitching at the end; Sollux knew that Eridan would very likely finish soon, but he was pretty close, himself.

Sollux adjusted his angle slightly, and groaned quietly; he tried to focus on his rhythm, but the babbling above him was too distracting, and he felt his face burning once again.

"Oh, Sol, right there, please-" Eridan very suddenly went very quiet for a few seconds, and his eyes flickered shut a moment before he loudly exclaimed, "fuck! I love you!"

The way that Eridan clenched around Sollux was mind blowing; the Gemini gasped loudly, and shuddered as his own body tensed up. He fucked Eridan through both of their orgasms, and as soon as they were both done, he flopped down on top of the hipster, and ignored his protests.

"Sol! No! Oh my God, it's everywhere! Get off, you asshole!" Eridan huffed, slapping his boyfriend's head and shoulders in an attempt to get him to move.

It took about half an hour to get cleaned up, and to retrieve all their clothing from the stairs and hallway. Thankfully, there wasn't anything to wipe up off the carpet, so they simply got back into their clothes, and shared a cheeky grin with eachother.

Sollux checked his phone, and saw that he had received four missed calls from Roxy in the time it took them to shower. He shook his head, and opened the accompanying text; good Lord, that girl was tenacious.

**'heyyy i tried ringing but you didnt anser! i think i might have an idea about when we can have my party and dw there wont be fireworks**   
**well not THIS time anywya lol'**

He was hardly surprised when the phone buzzed in his hand.

**'*answer *anyway**   
**ill try texting and maybe ringing in a bit so i can sweet talk you into coming to it!'**

Sollux groaned quietly, and thought about maybe making Eridan be the one to deal with Roxy, because he was too tired to deal with her antics. Then again, Eridan might talk her into having some kind of ridiculously over the top kind of party, which really wouldn't be worth avoiding a ten minute conversation for.

With a resigned sigh, Sollux replaced the phone in his pocket, and strolled downstairs, where he found Eridan sat on the sofa with a sketchbook on his lap. He leant against the back of the couch, and rested his chin on top of Eridan's head, "what are you drawing?"

Eridan didn't look up, "well, if you'd kindly remove your head from mine, I'd be able to finish it, an you'd see that it was a drawin' of... Well... It's goin' to be you."

"Oh shit, theriouthly?" Sollux walked around the couch, and gently dropped himself onto the empty space next to Eridan, watching the light pencil marks appear on the page with an extremely interested, and an almost spellbound, expression.

They sat in silence, until they heard the front door open, and slam shut.

"Hello?" Karkat yelled from the kitchen.

"Thup, KK!" Sollux replied, turning to look at the doorway as the shorter man appeared. He jumped as Eridan leapt from the couch, "Jethuth, ED, did you shit yourthelf, or thomething?"

Eridan dropped the sketchbook onto the couch, and made sure it was closed, before flicking Sollux's forehead, "no Sol, I just remembered that I have presents for you, Gam an Kar, is all." He quickly disappeared upstairs, and both Karkat and Sollux listened to the quiet, plodding footsteps above them.

Karkat flopped onto the couch next to Sollux, and stretched, "what's Eridan doing back so soon?" He asked, reaching across Sollux for the sketchbook.

"Haven't athked, been too buthy with other shit." Sollux replied, quickly slapping Karkat's hand away from the book.

"When you say you were 'too busy with other shit' do you mean that you was balls deep in him?"

"Pretty much, KK."

"Ever the romantic." Karkat rolled his eyes, and didn't reach for the sketchbook again; instead, he turned to watch as Eridan returned to the room, "what the fuck are you doing back so early?"

Eridan flopped back onto the couch with a bag of gifts on his lap, and pursed his lips, "well, ain't that just the best fuckin' welcome back message ever. God, Kar, this has far exceeded my bloody expectations for a tearful reunion." He pulled a small rectangular package wrapped in purple tissue paper, out of the bag, and chucked it at Karkat.

"FUCK!" Karkat barely managed to bring his hands up to catch the projectile, and stop it from slapping him in the face. He mirrored Eridan's pout, and put on a very fake-sounding happy voice, "oh my, Eridan, I'm _ever_ so glad to have you back with us on this fine, shitting day. Oh how fucking _pleased_ I am to see that you have returned, as I have missed your ample bosom, and the warm embraces that you have graced me with. Oh me, oh my, what a fucking national treasure you are, and I assure you that you aren't at all a frothing, feculent asshole."

While they listened to Karkat's tirade, Sollux snorted to himself, and Eridan raised an eyebrow.

"Is that the kind of lovelorn crap you wanted to hear, Eridan?" Karkat smirked, "did my little speech warm the cockles of your heart?"

Eridan couldn't help but smile, just a little, "rest assured my heart is poundin' away in my chest after hearin' such a beautiful message. An just so you know, I was always plannin' on comin' home today, I just wanted it to be a surprise for Sol, so I told him I'd be back Sunday instead." He handed Karkat another two presents, once again wrapped in the same deep purple paper, "these ones are for you, an the one I threw a second ago is for Gam.. It's some kind a weird sweet, I think? Anyway, there's one for you too. To be honest, I thought you'd both get a kick out a tryin' somethin' weird."

Once he had set Gamzee's present down on the table, Karkat gleefully unwrapped his own, and frowned at the foreign box of candies. He slowly lifted up a rather cute, candy-red crab keyring, and looked at Eridan questioningly, "Eridan, why the hell did you pick up, and pay actual money for, the cheesiest piece of crap that you obviously found in some kind of back-alley, seedy, pisswank of a beach-hut?"

Eridan's lips twitched upwards again, and he tried to repress the smile, "I remembered that in highschool, you used to like crabs."

"No, ED, he didn't _like_ crabth, he _had_ crabth." Sollux ducked as Karkat swatted at his head.

Eridan held his hand out towards the little crab keyring, "well if you hate it so much, give it back." He said, almost as some kind of challenge.

"Fuck off, it's the tackiest thing I have ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on, and whenever I look at it, I'll be reminded of your godawful face." Karkat clipped the keyring onto his house keys, and grinned, "I'm keeping it forever."

Sollux huffed, and was about to tell them both to cut the crap when he suddenly had a box thrust in front of his face. He snatched the gift, and ripped the paper off, not even bothering to pay attention to where the giftwrap fell. When he lifted the lid to the plain, cardboard box, he snorted, and shook his head, "oh thweet baby Jethuth, thith ith... Thith ith tho perfect."

Inside the box was a plain white mug, which was adorned with a team of six Pokemon, and a little cartoony trainer, wearing a pair of sunglasses. Sollux ran a finger down the image of a beedrill, and glanced up briefly at Eridan, "where the hell did you get thith?"

Eridan puffed out his chest, and looked both incredibly proud, and also a little sheepish, "me an Fef found some kind a shop that printed any picture on all manner a things, like mugs an shirts," he paused for a second as Sollux carefully turned the mug in his hands, "so I ended up drawin' that picture in the hotel room, because I wanted it to be perfect. To be honest, I'm thinkin' about gettin' myself one, with my own team on it."

The moment that the mug had been gently placed on the coffee table, Sollux grabbed Eridan into a hug, and squeezed him tightly, "I love you, you soppy git." After a minute, he released his boyfriend, then continued to admire the mug.

Finally, Karkat perked up a little, "I'm putting on a game, Eridan, Sollux, want to play?"

Eridan groaned dramatically, "Oh God, no, I've already been suckered into playin' Pokemon, there's no way I'm gettin' addicted to anythin' else." He settled back against Sollux, and flipped his sketchbook open, "I'll just be the judge, or somethin', I don't know."

With Eridan refusing to play, Sollux turned to Karkat with a wicked grin across his face, "let'th do thith. Let'th thee if you can finally beat me at thomething."

Karkat returned from the television shelf with a competitive gleam in his eye, "I'm going to own you in front of your fucking boyfriend, and when I do, he'll finally realise how much of a shitty, second-rate nerd you are."

"If you keep talking like a bitch, I'm going to thlap you like one." Sollux grinned. He loved the kind of banter that he and his best friend had.

Karkat and Sollux were neck and neck in a race, when the familiar chime of Sollux's phone sounded.

"Check your phone, Sollux, it sounds important." Karkat jabbed, with a wide grin on his face.

Sollux frowned and bit his tongue a little with concentration, fuck, it was probably Roxy asking him about going to her damned party, again. He'd been dreading the text for a while now, but he knew that if he didn't answer her soon, he'd get bombarded with messages from her. "Fuck, ED, can you check that for me? It'll be that girl from my clath, Roxthy. I'd do it mythelf, but I'm kicking KK'th ath here." He leant to the left as his car whipped around a corner, almost willing it to turn just a little more, "jutht tell her that ath long ath her partieth on pretty much any date after the nextht two weekth, I'll be able to come. But if it'th thooner than that, I'll have to bail, okay?"

This made Karkat laugh, "the only thing you'll be doing with my ass is kissing it once I fucking beat you." He leant forwards, and looked very much like he was getting serious about the race.

As Eridan picked up the phone, he gasped dramatically, "you're gettin' texts off girls? Wow, Sol, they better not be your secret lady-lover." He snorted and unlocked the phone.

The game was almost too exciting to notice anything else, but Sollux started to get worried when he didn't hear the familiar tapping sound of a message being written, "ED? What'th going on? Are you going to textht her back, or what?"

Eridan didn't answer.

At this point even Karkat could tell something was wrong, "Eridan?" He laughed nervously, "did someone send Sollux some sort of dick-shrivellingly bad porn pic?"

Eridan ran his finger across the screen, obviously scrolling through the earlier messages of the chat; his face completely devoid of expression.

"ED, you're thcaring me here, what the fuck did Roxthy thay? What'th happened?" Sollux paused the game, then reached out to pat Eridan's shoulder, "ED?"

"Don't touch me."

"What? ED, I-"

"I SAID DON'T FUCKIN' _TOUCH_ ME!"

Sollux wrenched his hand back as if he'd been scalded. He stared at his boyfriend and began noticing little things; Eridan was shaking, his body was tense, and his lips were a thin line. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Eridan put the phone back on the coffee table and stood up, walking straight to the kitchen. He was gone for about thirty seconds before he marched back in with his shoes on, then began grabbing his things, shoving it all into his bag roughly. He didn't say a word.

"ED, what the fuck ith wrong with you? What are you doing? Thit down, you tit." Sollux laughed, reaching out to lay his hand on top of Eridan's as he picked up his sketchpad.

"Captor, wwould you _kindly_ get the evver-lovvin' _fuck_ off me." Eridan almost kicked himself for allowing his stutter to get so bad.

Sollux stood up and stared at Eridan, wondering what the fuck could have crawled up his ass and died in the past couple of minutes, "Eridan?"

"DON'T! Don't you _dare_ say anythin'. I don't wwant to hear it." Eridan was starting to break; his furious, but surprisingly still calm, facade had slipped, and his eyes welled up. He was shaking so badly he struggled to push his book back into his bag, and when he couldn't do it, he made a loud and painfully exasperated noise, "wwhat did I evver do to you? Please tell me wwhat I did to deservve this. Do you really fuckin' hate me this much?" His voice cracked as he spoke, and his stutter was completely out of control, the humiliation made his cheeks burn and didn't help things one bit.

Karkat looked between them incredulously, "Eridan, what did he do? Sollux what the fuck did you do?"

Eridan looked at Karkat mournfully, "I'll tell you wwhat he's done, Kar, he's been seein' Aradia all this time, behind my back, an all I can think is that he wwas only goin' out wwith me to wwait until I wwas fuckin' crazy about him, an then just fuckin' do _this_ to me!" He blanched and put a hand over his mouth, "I havve to get out a here, I'm goin' to be sick, howw _dare_ you do this to me, Captor, I fuckin'... I fuckin'... This wwhole relationship wwas one big joke to you, wwasn't it? Just a joke to fuckin' hurt me!"

Before Sollux could say anything, Karkat glared at him and began shouting, "Sollux, tell me he's confused, tell me he's fucking mistaken, or at least tell me that my fucking ears are clogged and I didn't just happen to hear Eridan say that you've been seeing _Aradia_!" His eyes blazed with fury, "Sollux, come on, I'm waiting!"

Sollux picked up his phone and read the newest message.

**'hey sollux i just wanted to make sure that things arent weird between us**   
**i wish you had told me sooner about the fact you have a boyfriend because i feel absolutely awful about the kiss but i honestly believed that you thought that our get-togethers were dates too... and i assumed that you was enjoying them as much as i was and i really feel like i should apologise about what happened**   
**i really am so sorry for all this x'**

_Oh shit_. Sollux looked up, knowing that he must look guilty as hell, "no, it'th not like that, ED, theriouthly, we juht went out for coffee a couple of timeth it wath nothing. She jutht had the wrong end of the thtick, okay? I never told her I wath having fun or anything, shit."

Karkat snatched the phone away and his eyes widened as he read the text, "you _KISSED_ her!?" He looked up incredulously, and Sollux grabbed the phone back.

"No! I would never kith her. _She_ kithed _me_!" Sollux knew that this exclamation didn't help things in the slightest. He glared at Karkat and Eridan, they were both watching him with judging eyes, and he fucking hated it. The thick tendrils of a dark rage began creeping through his brain, and Sollux could taste it's bitterness at the back of his throat. Eridan was fucking pushing him, Eridan _wanted_ a reaction, Eridan was making him feel angry on purpose. Sollux was starting to see red, and he didn't even know if he wanted to try and hold himself back. His head was filled with a hurricane, and with every viable, rational thought being whipped around, it was getting harder and harder to hold onto them.

Eridan whimpered, "I read _your_ messages too, you could a told her to fuck off at any point, but you kept goin' back to her! You wwas havin' _fun_! You fuckin' bastard! That's wwhy you didn't tell her about _me_!" He stood tall, and tried to continue holding his proud demeanor, despite the fact he felt empty and broken, "I thought that after wwhat she put you through you'd nevver go back to her, or at least not do the same thing as she did an cheat on anyone else! No wwonder you fuckin' wwent back to her, you're both the same!"

The tempest that had been tearing it's way through his mind was suddenly silenced. It was the eye of the storm, and Sollux felt something inside of him snap. The poisonous anger spilled over, and he felt it seep into every pore. He wanted to hurt Eridan, he wanted to twist the knife in his boyfriend's gut and make Eridan feel as bad as he was feeling, "yeth! Okay! I wanted to thee her, I fucking mithed her! For fuckth thaketh, Eridan, I wath with her for yearth! And I didn't fucking _cheat_ on you, you pathetic, dramatic little child, I jutht went out with her for coffee a couple of timeth, tho grow up!" He glared at Eridan, and dared him to respond with the same kind of vehemence. He _almost_ felt bad when the hipster's shoulders slumped.

"I get it." Eridan sounded completely defeated, he stared at the book in his hands and swallowed. Part of him wanted to beat the shit out of Sollux, but he had given up. There was no point. "I just don't care anymore, Sollux. I wwould tell you to do wwhat you wwant, but you'vve been doin' that this wwhole time. Bye, Sollux. Maybe I'll see you around later, Kar." Eridan couldn't make eye contact with either of them as he left through the kitchen.

Sollux shook; he had been anticipating a fist fight, and to be honest, he kind of _wanted_ a fist fight. He wanted Eridan to hit him, and scream at him, and they could just whale on eachother until all the animosity and pain faded. He couldn't understand why Eridan had just walked away like that. Where was his usual fire? Sollux turned and saw Karkat staring at him with a disbelieving expression, "what are you looking at, KK?" He had to bite back a nasty comment.

"I just don't get it. After what she did to you? And then you speak to Eridan like that? I know he's the biggest douche this universe has ever produced, but Jesus fucking Christ, Sollux, he didn't deserve _that_." The shorter male actually looked hurt, and without saying another word, Karkat walked upstairs, shaking his head.

"It'th not like that! She tried to kith me and I put my fucking hand in the way! I fucking thtopped her! I didn't do anything wrong! FUCK!" Sollux grabbed the closest thing to him on the table, and launched it against a wall. The red haze that had blanketed his mind faded, and the obsidian rage receded when he realised what he had thrown, "oh shit." He walked over and knelt down in front of the shattered pieces of ceramic; the mug that Eridan had bought him was destroyed. As Sollux began picking up the shards of ceramic, he desperately tried to fit the pieces back together; he just needed some glue, and some time, and he could do this, fuck there were so many little bits, but he could do this, he _had_ to be able to do this. When Sollux stopped fighting the truth, he felt his chest tighten; it was broken and smashed and in tiny fucking pieces and there was no way in hell that it would ever be fixed. Everything had gone to shit. Nothing was okay.

-.-.-

Eridan slammed his front door shut, and he was so conflicted that he had to unlock it and relock it three times because he kept losing count of how many times he had checked it. He kicked his shoes off at the wall, and stormed into the living room, heading straight over to the fishtank. "Fuck Sollux! I'm not bein' some fuckin' bastard's second best, no fuckin' wway! Wwho givves an evver lovvin' fuck about him anywway? Not me." He furiously wiped away the tears that had started flowing. "I don't need him. I don't need anyone! I managed perfectly fuckin' fine on my own, an I can do it again!"

There was a storm raging inside Eridan; he was lost in a sea of anger and pain, and he was trying desperately to keep his head above the choppy waves, but he was being dragged under. It was getting harder and harder to stay afloat as each second passed, and Eridan needed someone, _anyone_ , to save him, because he didn't want to drown. He wanted to call Sollux desperately, and beg him to tell him it was bullshit, please just tell him that everything would be okay from now on. He wanted to go to bed, and to wake up and find that this was all a fucking dream; some kind of horrific, disgusting nightmare. He wanted to find out it never happened, and have Sollux pepper his face with kisses, wipe away his tears, call him a douchebag and drag him out of the mess in his mind.

Eridan just wanted to not feel so worthless, and useless, and unloved. He never thought that he was good enough, or that he deserved to have someone like Sollux, and now he knew for sure that this was true. He had never _really_ been loved, he had always been second best. It was tearing him apart, and Eridan finally felt himself sink beneath the waves, because why should he fight it? Why should he bother? What good was fighting to stay above the waves, when it was easier to allow the darkness to envelope him, and to fall into the inky depths? Eridan felt numb and cold, but he also burned intensely at the same time. His heart thumped in the hollow cage of his chest, and Eridan wondered how it could still be working, because he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he also felt nothing at all.

Through the pain, and nothingness, that swamped his mind, and filled his lungs, a thousand thoughts and voices tore through him; the questions and doubts that were being whispered into Eridan's ears, were filled with poison, and felt like shards of glass. Wasn't he good enough? Of course he wasn't, if he was, then someone would love him. What had he done wrong? Something, everything, maybe the better question would be what had he ever done _right_. What had he done to deserve this? He had tried so hard, so why the _fuck_ wasn't that good enough?

He stared at the fishtank, barely even able to see anything more than a blurred mess through his wet eyes. He desperately searched for the comforting flash of white. "Hey Barbossa, come on out." He waited for a second, and was almost tempted to tap on the glass. He sniffed loudly, "come on, Barbossa." Eridan waited, wiping his eyes, "please, Barbossa, please?" He was begging the fishtank now, the tears falling heavily. Eridan needed to see his little seahorse; with Sollux gone, his precious little baby was the only thing that would help restore even the tiniest bit of hope and happiness to his life right. Barbossa would be his lifesaver ring, Barbossa would be a comfort, Barbossa would never leave him.

Eridan searched for his little seahorse, and after a while, he caught a glimpse of ice white at the surface, next to the pump. He sobbed with relief, "wwhat are you doin' up there? You like bein' near the bottom." He smiled and bent down so that he could look up at Barbossa better.

Something was wrong.

Barbossa was lying flat against the surface.

Eridan stood up and wrenched the black lid up, "Barbossa!?" He screamed; the pit of his stomach suddenly dropped with the lead weight of realisation, "please wwake up, please! Just movve, wwake up! Please! WWAKE UP!" As he begged, he touched the tiny, frail body, and it bobbed under the surface before floating back up.

The world shattered and crumbled around Eridan, and he dropped to the floor with his shaking hands clamped over his ears. He screamed mournfully , and wept shamelessly against the carpet. Nothing was okay.

Barbossa didn't wake up.


	46. Messages and Apologies

Sollux pulled the quilt over his head to try and prevent the invading sunlight from burning his retinas. He groaned quietly, and decided that this was actually a pretty redundant move, considering the fact that he wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.

He had had the dream about Eridan again; the hipster had come home from his holiday early, and found out about Aradia. While this dream would never be as bad as the one that forced him to watch his mother die, Sollux still felt sick and tired of it.

After lying still for another minute, Sollux reached out from under his quilt, and grabbed his phone; though he was certain that he wouldn't have any new messages.

This assumption proved to be correct, and Sollux frowned as he finally sat up, and got out of bed.

As with most mornings, Sollux didn't see much point in completing any kind of routine, afterall, there wasn't anywhere he needed to be, so why bother? It was Sunday, and this meant that the Gemini would be enjoying a peaceful day off, which he fully intended to fill with a strict schedule of absolutely nothing.

He stretched and groaned as he walked into the kitchen, and lazily began rooting through the cupboards for some kind of nourishment. It was only after he had put some bread in the toaster that Sollux realised he wasn't alone; he looked over his shoulder, and acknowledged his best friend, who was sat at the dinner table with a mug of coffee.

"Thup, KK."

Karkat's eyebrows descended a little, and he continued to glare at the laptop in front of him, obviously trying to look as though whatever was on the screen was much too exciting to turn away from.

Sollux pulled the small jar of chocolate spread out of the cupboard, and set it down on the counter a little louder than he had actually meant to, "KK, thtop being thuch an ignorant douchebag and anthwer me. I thaid hello."

Once again, Karkat's eyebrows furrowed slightly as a natural reaction to being spoken to, but that was the only response he gave.

This pissed Sollux off, and he felt his top lip quirk upwards in distaste, "what the fuck ith wrong with you today? Did you have an unthatithfying wet-dream, or thomething?" He turned his attention to finding a knife that didn't have any watermarks, and made sure to clatter around in the drawer as loudly as possible to piss his friend off.

"Fuck you." Karkat finally replied.

Sollux took note of the fact that his friend actually sounded pretty angry, and decided that it was the perfect time to try and instigate one of their usual arguments, as they were always so much more fun when the shorter man was in a piss-poor mood, "well look who'th finally found hith voithe. Tho how come you're giving me the fucking thilent treatment thith morning?"

It was the lack of a response, and the feeling of eyes practically burning into the back of his head that made Sollux turn.

Karkat looked livid. His reddish-brown eyes seemed alive with a heated fury that made the pre-prepared sarcasm catch in Sollux's throat. "Are you fucking serious right now, Captor?" Anger laced every syllable, and his eyebrows were so furrowed, they were nearly touching, "you had better _not_ be fucking serious right now."

The tone of Karkat's voice made Sollux feel a little uncomfortable; he was used to the angry screaming, but this cold anger was so much worse. "No, I'm not being theriouth, I'm jutht-"

"You're just _what_?" Karkat interjected, "making a joke about what's only _just_ fucking happened? I know that taking the piss out of a situation you don't like is in your usual coping-repetoire, but _really_?"

To his credit, Sollux held Karkat's gaze pretty well, even without the shielding that his sunglasses would usually provide. "Why do you care how I deal with thith bullshit, KK? What the hell hath it got to do with you?" His response was quiet, and almost a challenge.

Karkat took the bait, and clenched his fists on the table in front of him, "oh, I'll tell you what it's got to do with me." He turned away, and stared straight ahead at the kitchen door, "Eridan's my _friend_ , and you're such an incorrigible piece of shit that you won't fucking admit that _you're_ in the wrong here!"

Sollux resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this, and instead folded his arms "oh, grow up, Karkat." He muttered, "there'th nothing for me to feel bad about! I wath hanging out with a friend, and she _tried_ to kith me, but I thtopped her. Eridan'th jutht being a dramatic shit, ith all."

This was most definitely _not_ the right thing to say, as Karkat's eye twitched before he spoke, "nothing to feel bad for, huh? Oh really? Look, while I can only take your word for the fact that you stopped the kiss, it doesn't change the fact that you've been hanging out with your ex. You should have been truthful about it from the start, because now Eridan probably just thinks you're a liar as well as a cheater." Karkat leant back in his chair, and looked Sollux up and down, "let me ask you something, Sollux, have you even apologised to him?"

"No. Why should I?" Sollux asked childishly. It had been two days since he and Eridan had broken up, and he had done nothing but get more and more pissed off about the whole situation; the worst thing was that Sollux fluctuated between believing that he had done absolutely nothing wrong, and hating himself more than anything for losing the person that he actually gave a shit about. He shoved these thoughts aside, and clenched his fists, "and thtop it with thith thtupid thilent treatment thing, it pitheth me off!"

"Oh, dear me, it pisses you off? Well, excuse me if I'm perpetually stuck between wanting nothing more than to ignore you, and wanting to lower a coroscating column of hot 'fuck-you' down your fucking protein-hole, while screaming in your goddamn face." Karkat snapped, glaring up at Sollux with open vehemence. He stood up quickly, and grabbed his laptop, "do me a fucking favour, and say sorry to Eridan. I know he's a douchebag delegate, but that's no excuse to treat him like this."

Just before Karkat could disappear into the living room, Sollux stepped forward and grabbed his arm, "wait. Ith that what thith ith about? You've been talking about me behind my back with _him_?"

Karkat looked down at the hand holding him firmly, and then stared straight into his taller friend's eyes, "no. I've been texting him, and trying to phone him, but I haven't heard a fucking peep out of him. Now let go of my fucking arm before I rip it out of it's socket, and ram it up your gaping asshole."

Without giving Sollux the chance to let go, Karkat wrenched his arm away, and stormed off upstairs, leaving Sollux alone.

-.-.-.-.-

Feferi sighed, and leant back against the sofa cushions. It had been five hours since she had gotten the phonecall about Eridan and Sollux's breakup, and she had rushed over as quick as possible, with her arms filled with all the tubs of ice-cream that she could find in the freezers at her parent's house.

Not that this did any good, because as soon as she walked in through the front door, she knew that Eridan hadn't moved from the couch in two whole days.

She folded her arms, and watched Eridan with an unimpressed look, "Erifin, come on, it's time to get showered and dressed. There's no use in just lying around glubbing all day." She said, trying to sound strict enough to make Eridan pay attention to her.

Eridan continued staring at the fishtank, blinking slowly. He didn't look as if he had even heard that Feferi had spoken to him.

In Feferi's opinion, this was worse than the usual, dramatic 'woe-is-me' Eridan that she was used to dealing with in this kind of situation. She puffed out her cheeks, and reached over to give her step-brother a firm shake, "hey, come on, why don't we go out for some food? Or eat our body weight in ice-cream and chocolate?"

Once again, Eridan appeared not to have noticed that he was being addressed. He simply watched the large tank, with a face devoid of any emotion.

Feferi leant a little closer, and studied her brother's features; his pink-rimmed eyes had dark bags under them, and his cheeks looked a little wet, but worst of all was that his hair was sticking up in odd angles. She sighed loudly, and prodded his forehead, "come on, Erifin, I'm shore if you stop it with the carp attitude, you'll start eeling better, and-"

"Really, Fef? You're makin' fuckin' _fish puns_ at a time like this?" Eridan tore his gaze away from the remaining fish in his tank, and glared at Feferi, "this isn't the fuckin' time to be takin' the piss an makin' a joke, can't you see that I'm sufferin' here? My little baby Barbossa is... He's..." Eridan's face crumpled, and he quickly buried his face against his knees.

"Yeah, you're right. He is." Feferi nodded, and patted Eridan's back gently, "and I'm sorry. But you have to snap out of it, and stop moping around." She gave Eridan's back one final smack, and folded her arms; it wasn't as if she'd never seen Eridan break down before, but she watched with a raised eyebrow, refusing to coddle him.

Eridan continued to keep his face hidden, and mumbled quietly, "Fef, I'm not mopin', I'm fuckin' grievin' here. Don't you understand that Barbossa's gone, an Sol faked our entire fuckin' relationship just to hurt me! Why the hell are you actin' so bloody blasé about all a this?"

"Because Sollux didn't fake anyfin, you weenie!" Feferi folded her arms, and sighed in an exasperated manner, but her frown softened ever so slightly when Eridan turned towards her with an uneasy expression.

"Fef, he never loved me."

This took Feferi by surprise; there was no dramatic arm-gestures, no wailing or screaming, there wasn't even a _pout_. Eridan had simply looked, and sounded, completely defeated.

She shuffled a little closer, and began running her fingers through Eridan's hair in an attempt to fix the awful bed-head he had, "Erifin, listen," she said softly, "he _did_ love you. Look, do you remember when you got into that fight, and ended up in hospital?"

Eridan nodded, "yeah, what about it?"

"Whale, Sollux tried to go searching for you wearing nothing but his pyjama-shirt and boxers! He literally jumped up from the couch, and ran down the road!" She giggled, and gave Eridan a playful shove, "Karkat told me all about it when you and Sollux were having a chat in the hospital room."

Feferi thought she saw the tiniest spark of hope in Eridan's eyes, so she continued, "and let's not forget all the lovely dates that you and he went on, and that he planned. Come on, Eridan, he was crazy about you, he-"

"Then why did he fuck off with Aradia!?" Eridan suddenly screamed, his hands fisting in his already messy hair, "Barbossa's dead, an Sol's supposed to be here tellin' me that everythin's goin' to be okay, an... an... I can't fuckin' stand it, Fef! We promised we'd always be there for eachother, but he's not _here_!" He pressed his face against his knees again, and his shoulders shook as he sobbed loudly, "this ain't fair! I want to hate him, but I fuckin' _can't_!"

As her brother's words dissolved into loud, and tired sounding sobs, Feferi wrapped her arms around him and held him, just as she had done a thousand times in the past. Eridan was right, it wasn't fair, but that was just too bad. Feferi continued to make soft shushing noises, and rub his back, hoping that he and Sollux would somehow sort out this shitstorm.

-.-.-.-.-

Monday came around far too quickly, and as he tapped away at the buttons on his controller, Sollux tried to keep his mind free of thoughts about Eridan. This was easier said than done, as Mituna kept asking questions about him, with little to no warning.

"Ith Eridan back from hith holiday yet?"

Sollux pinched the bridge of his nose, and nodded, "yeth, I've already told you that he'th home, Tuna."

"Then why ithn't he _here_?" Mituna paused the game to look at Sollux with a questioning frown, "you told me latht week that Eridan wath going to come round to thee me today, and that we wath-"

"I know what I said." Sollux replied sternly, before putting his controller on the floor, "look, can we talk about thomething elthe, pleathe?"

While Mituna appeared to be concentrating hard on thinking of something else to discuss, Sollux allowed his mind to float back to Eridan; the day previous, he had had to cancel all the bookings and arrangements for their surprise holiday, which had put Sollux in a rather piss-poor mood, to be honest.

Which was why it didn't help in the slightest to have Mituna suddenly perk up with, "but Eridan wath thuppothed to play Baldur'th Gate today, we're nowhere clothe to finishing, and we thtill have to go get the-"

"TUNA, ENOUGH." The guilt had been building inside Sollux like some kind of pustule, and as usual, the Gemini had allowed it to reform as rage. He missed Eridan like mad, but he was trying to force himself not to; it was easier for the Gemini to try and hate the hipster, instead of admitting that _he_ was the one in the wrong.

Sollux shot Mituna a warning glare, but felt the anger turn into regret, as his twin was watching him with wide eyes.

"I'm thorry." Mituna whispered, "I'm thorry, Tholluxth."

That was enough to break Sollux's heart. He shook his head, "fuck, no, Tuna, don't be thorry. I'm the one who should be thorry. I jutht can't talk about Eridan right now, okay? I'm thorry." He felt sick with himself, it wasn't his twin's fault that he kept asking questions.

Mituna nodded slowly, and silently unpaused the game; he ignored Sollux as he drove around the track, expertly dodging other drivers to pick up power-ups.

Sollux searched his mind for a way to make it up to his brother, "hey, want to go out for lunch?" He asked hopefully.

"No thankth." Mituna replied impassively.

"Ithe-cream?"

There was a tiny heartbeat of silence, before Mituna nodded, "I want five thcoopth." He mumbled, before standing up and grabbing his jacket off the back of his door, "come on, Tholluxth, hurry up."

Sollux grinned, and stood up to join him, but hesitated, "hang on, Tuna, give me a thecond." When his twin left the room to go downstairs and wait by the front door, Sollux removed the mobile from his pocket, and quickly began composing a message to send to Eridan.

-.-.-.-.-

It had been days since the first text was sent to Eridan, and Sollux felt a bit pissed off about the fact that he hadn't received any kind of response, especially considering the fact that he had actually apologised more than once.

Once again, Sollux checked his phone for a message he knew didn't exist. He huffed, and shuffled position on his beanbag, and tried to focus on his laptop to distract himself from overthinking anything.

This lasted about thirty seconds, after which, Sollux groaned, and buried his face in his hands. It was hardly fair, in his opinion, that Eridan hadn't sent any kind of acknowledgement of the admittedly awkward, but undeniably heartfelt apologies; then again, the nerd could hardly blame him for ignoring him. It wasn't like he deserved anything better.

But silent treatments just pissed Sollux off so much.

After yet another short session of self-deprecation, Sollux decided that enough was enough; he knew exactly what Eridan wanted, and that was a _real_ apology.

"For fuckth thaketh." Sollux grumbled. He picked up his phone yet again, and searched his contacts for Eridan's number, once again feeling his stomach do a flip with a mixture of guilt and trepidation. It took every ounce of strength and determination in Sollux's body, but he finally forced himself to press the 'call' button, and brought the phone up to his ear.

Sollux frowned, and checked to see if he had accidentally called the hipser's old number for the phone that had been stolen, but it wasn't. He tried ringing again, but found himself being sent straight to answer-phone.

For a moment he wondered if his number had been blocked, but if that was the case, then surely he wouldn't have been sent to answer-phone? Wouldn't it just refuse to connect the call?

Sollux had no idea, but he tried to ring a few more times before throwing his phone down in frustration. This was most definitely not what he had expected to happen; all he wanted was to apologise, and try to make amends with the Aquarius, and insead, he was stuck listening to some robotic voice trying to give him instructions.

It was complete bullshit.

When Sollux checked the date again, he tried to remember what Eridan usually did on a Thursday, but seeing as they had both finished college, it could be anything. Maybe he had finally gone back to his lifeguarding job? It was possible, seeing as his wounds had healed, but then again, maybe he was still putting off returning to work for a little while longer, because of the current mess.

He had barely started contemplating this, when Karkat burst into the room; his cheeks were red, and he looked absolutely livid, "what did you _do_?"

It took Sollux a moment to regain the ability to speak; seeing Karkat this angry had actually shocked him for a second, "what the fuck are you accuthing me of?" He muttered, composing himself and shifting on his beanbag.

"In all the years I have known Eridan, he has never _once_ had his phone turned off, and I've been trying to phone him since yesterday, and now, it's fucking off! You know, after what you did to him, and the way you spoke to him, I'm fucking _scared_ for him." Karkat's chest heaved and his voice strained a little, "do you remember how I held _you_ for _days_ after Aradia fucked you over? I looked after you, I stayed up for nearly a week to make sure that you was eating and sleeping, and I even passed out in that fucking beanbag because I didn't sleep for days, all because I was shitting myself over what you might do to yourself if you didn't have me watching you like a pissing hawk!"

Sollux felt a little ashamed; he didn't appreciate the way that Karkat was bringing that crap up, "what'th that got to do with anything? Do me a favour and get to the point."

Karkat's voice was thick and low when he spoke, and it looked as if he was holding back from leaping on top of Sollux and punching him, "my point, you frothing asswipe, is that you had better hope that he has Feferi over there comforting him. You had better hope that he has someone who's willing to stay up with him and look after him and make sure that he's okay and not doing something stupid. You had better fucking hope that... That..." He faltered a little and looked to the side, "I'm fucking worried about him. He's dramatic and stupid, and I don't know what he might do if he's on his own, and now his fucking phone's off."

"KK," Sollux struggled for a second as he got off his beanbag, then reached for his best friend, "he'th fine, come here."

For a second Karkat looked as though he was about to fall into Sollux's arms and take full advantage of the physical contact, but he shook his head, "that's what everyone said about you."

Sollux hesitated, "he jutht needth time, he'll be fine."

This only made Karkat scoff loudly, "oh really? And you know that for a fucking fact, do you?" He almost snarled as he spoke, the agitation building, "you keep saying that he'll be fine, but honestly, I doubt even _you_ believe that." Suddenly the fact that Karkat had been furious with him was gone, and Sollux watched as his best friend turned and walked out the room as if they hadn't just spoken about such a touchy subject.

Sollux remained frozen in place for a minute. It was true that he had indeed needed Karkat when he had been at his lowest point, but that didn't mean that Eridan would be the same. Right?

He quickly grabbed his own phone, and tried to call Eridan again, hoping that maybe the hipster had just allowed his phone to momentarily run out of battery, but once again he was met with the same monotonous message. He wished more than anything that Eridan had recorded his own answerphone message, just so that he could hear his voice once again.

"Karkat, wait!" Sollux bolted out of his own room, and thrust the door to Karkat's room open, "he'th probably with FF, right? Or... Or maybe he'th at hith dad'th houthe."

Karkat's voice was cool and indifferent as he spoke, "I haven't been able to get hold of Feferi to ask her if she's with him, and do you _really_ think that Eridan would be any better if he was with his _dad_?"

"Oh, shit!" Sollux turned, and ran for the stairs, barely noticing how loud his frantic footsteps were. He ignored Gamzee, who was sat in his usual chair, rolling some sort of cigarette, and instead continued to sprint out of the apartment building.

It almost shocked Sollux to see how far he got before he felt like he was going to shit out his lungs, and he finally slowed to a walk. As Sollux panted and wheezed, he thought about everything; he missed the hell out of Eridan, and he sure as shit never wanted anything like _this_ to happen. He just wanted to have him back in his life again.

For the first time since their breakup, Sollux wondered whether or not the whole ordeal had been worth it. Sure, he loved being back in contact with Aradia, but for what cost? He hated not being able to come home to Eridan, he hated not being able to eat meals with Eridan, he hated not being able to just talk with Eridan.

It was all gone, and it was all his own fault.

Sollux groaned, and sped up his pace again, refusing to let the pain in his chest stop him from reaching Eridan's as soon as possible.

When he arrived at the house, something seemed wrong. It didn't look any different, and Sollux couldn't put his finger on it, it just didn't seem like the welcoming home it always had done in the past.

He walked up the path, and hesitated in front of the door. It was almost like he was breaking some kind of rule by being here, but Sollux couldn't explain it. Maybe it was just the knowledge that as soon as it opened, he was likely to get punched, that made him feel so uneasy. Regardless of this, Sollux lifted his hand, and knocked loudly.

The house responded with silence.

Sollux frowned, and tried again, and again, and again. After a minute, he was hammering the door with his fist.

"Eridan! Open up!" He shouted, hardly even caring if he pissed off any neighbours. Unfortunately, he was once again met only with complete silence.

If Sollux didn't know any better, he might have thought that Eridan really _had_ gone to his parent's house, but he knew that the Aquarius would have been made to feel worse if he had returned there, so he must have kept away.

Sollux looked up, and checked to see if any of the windows were open, and saw that the bedroom window was open about half-way. He grinned, and took hold of the drain-pipe; he had never been much for climbing, but this was an emergency.

Before he began his treacherous ascent, a tiny voice whispered in the back of Sollux's mind.

_Try the door._

Sollux ignored this as best he could, knowing full-well that Eridan would never have left the door open, but whether because of the feeling in his gut, or the knowledge of his complete inability to climb _anything_ , Sollux hesitated, and glanced towards the door.

It looked the same as it always did, but the miniscule thought continued to persist, and quietly demand that he at least _attempt_ opening the door before scaling the wall.

The Gemini let go of the drain-pipe, and quietly stepped over to the front door. For some reason, it felt so _wrong_.

He licked his lips, and reached out for the shiny door handle. He knew that it would be fruitless, and just a waste of time, but he just needed to shut that voice in his head up, he only wanted to prove it wrong, and-

Sollux stared at the door handle as it turned.

Eridan's door was unlocked.

He felt the cold rush of panic wash over his body and settle in his gut. This was wrong, it _had_ to be wrong, Eridan checked his door all the time... But maybe he forgot this one time? No he would never forget. Maybe he just got in? He checks it three, five, seven, or ten times. Maybe he just hasn't had a chance yet? He never checks it two or four times. Maybe he's okay... He always checks his door, Eridan _always_ checks his door...

Sollux pushed the door open, and he let himself in, "Eridan?" He was surprised at how small his voice sounded, he called out again, and heard no signs of life in the house. Before he could give in to the fear that was coursing through him, Sollux closed the door behind himself and rationalised a plan of action; he would check every room one at a time, and everything would be fine, he would find Eridan, and they would laugh about the door and everything would be fine, he would apologise to the stupid hipster and everything would be fine, Eridan would forgive him and everything would be fine, please, _please_ , just let everything be fine, just let Eridan be fine.

_Please._

The living room was empty, so was the kitchen, and the spare bathroom. Sollux bit his lip and tried to stay calm, there would be a rational explanation for all of this and everything would go back to how it was. Right?

The stairs whispered a creak under his feet, and Sollux felt incredibly out of place in the empty house. It was full of the ghosts of their happy memories. He had to stop his ascent to grind the heels of his hands against his eyes.

It was too much.

He sagged against the wall and clutched his chest, "Eridan? Eridan, pleathe." Sollux's voice cracked as the pain rose through his ribcage, rotting and contaminating every cell in his body with it's touch; he continued making his way up the stairs with heavy feet, willing himself to keep moving.

The spare bedrooms were empty, and Sollux felt bile rise up in his throat the second he entered the room that served as Mituna's. He quickly closed the door, and moved on, feeling as if he just couldn't cope.

The reading room looked as though it hadn't been touched in quite a long time, and Sollux realised that he had been calling out Eridan's name the entire time. There were only two rooms left.

Sollux rested a hand on Eridan's bedroom door. Eridan _had_ to be in here, he just had to be. He opened the door slowly and the words caught in his throat. _No, please no._

The room was in chaos. The quilt, pillows and bedcovers had been thrown off the bed, clothes has been dragged from the wardrobe and were strewn everywhere. Eridan's painstakingly organised pens had been hurled against a wall; the plastic case was shattered, and the pens were scattered and completely out of place. There were sketchbooks everywhere, but their pages had been wrenched out; the artwork had been ripped into tiny pieces, and littered the room like fallen leaves.

Everything was wrong. Eridan's room was always impeccable, Eridan had obsessive compulsive disorder and tidied like his life depended on it, Eridan couldn't live like this. Sollux wanted nothing more than to pick everything up, and somehow put it all back together for Eridan.

There was only one room left.

Sollux stepped over the mess, trying not to disturb anything; he reached the bathroom door and hesitated. The voice in his head was screaming that something was wrong, turn back, go home, don't look, _don't fucking look_. But he had to. He had to know that Eridan was okay, he had to find him, he had to apologise and make everything better and just say sorry and make everything fine. Everything had to be fine.

He pushed the door open.

There were various bottles of body washes and conditioners on the floor, and Sollux looked up at the bath. He felt his heart jump up into his mouth as he saw the top of Eridan's head over the rim of the tub. "There you are, you fucking idiot, why didn't you anthwer me?" Relief washed over him in a warm wave, and he quickly strode over to the bath.

Eridan didn't react, he just continued to stare at his own feet. As Sollux approached, he saw that the water was all the way up to Eridan's chin, and the hipster was wearing a suit. It took him a moment to notice that the room felt pretty cold, the mirrors were devoid of any condensation, and there was no steam rising from the water.

"ED? What the fuck are you doing?" Sollux almost laughed, as a part of him wanted to lighten the mood, and he hoped that maybe the hipster would join in. He honestly didn't know whether or not he should worried about the fact that Eridan was sat in a bath of cold water wearing his best suit.

Eridan didn't react. It didn't even look as if he had heard Sollux, he just continued to stare straight ahead; the only thing giving away the fact that he was actually alive was the way that the water rippled ever so slightly in front of his face as he breathed.

Sollux hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bathtub, and waited for the Aquarius to either push him off, or pull him in, but neither happened. They just stayed where they both were, in silence.

Finally Sollux cleared his throat, "tho... What'th with the thuit? Ith your washing machine broken or thomething?" It wasn't as if he actually expected an answer, but at the same time, he was a little disappointed that Eridan didn't even _look_ at him.

He sighed, and continued, "look, ED, I'm thorry, okay? For everything." Sollux glanced down at the hipster, and tried to figure out what the hell was going on with him, "have you read my textht methageth? I've been worried about you, and shit..."

There wasn't even a flicker of recognition in Eridan's eyes as Sollux spoke, he just continued to stare, and occasionally blink.

"What happened to your room?" Sollux asked, but once again, he received nothing at all, which was starting to piss him off to be honest.

Finally Sollux felt himself reaching the end of his tether, and he frowned, "Eridan, thtop acting like a fucking child, and thpeak to me, I know you don't think I give a shit, but I actually do, now tell me what the hell'th going on with you."

Eridan blinked slowly, before closing his eyes, and submerging himself under the water. This action made Sollux snort with amusement, and he grinned a little, "oh my God, you abtholute idiot."

It would have been funnier, if not for the fact that Eridan stayed submerged for over two minutes. Sollux watched, feeling a little impressed, then reached into the water to pull Eridan into a sitting position; the water really was absolutely freezing, and Sollux wondered how the hipster didn't have hypothermia already.

"Come on, ED, get your ath out of there." He grumbled as he tried to help Eridan up. Once this was done, he gently smoothed the dripping-wet hair away from the Aquarius' face, but pulled his hand away when he saw Eridan's disgusted expression, "ED, look, I really _am_ thorry. I know that doethn't mean anything to you right now, but..."

When Eridan tried to sink under the surface once again, Sollux snapped at him, "thtop it! Thtop trying to hide under the fucking water! It'th not funny!" He didn't know whether he was getting angry because Eridan was acting so childish, or because he was so worried about him. Whatever the reason, Sollux wanted the little act to stop. After pulling Eridan up into a sitting position again, he held him by his shoulders, and made sure that the hipster couldn't sneak back under once again.

"You know _what_ , Eridan? Your dad wath right about you. You really _are_ fucking overreacting, dramatic, childish, pompouth, and arrogant! And that'th jutht the shit he thayth in _front_ of you, I'd hate to fucking hear what he thayth behind your back." Sollux glared at Eridan, he didn't care if the hipster got up and punched him in the face, just as long as he responded in some way. Whether for altruistic reasons or not, Sollux wanted Eridan to go back to the way he was, and if this meant pissing him off so much that he snapped and jumped out of the bath to kick his ass, then so be it.

When Sollux saw the tiniest crease appear between Eridan's eyebrows, he thought that he may be onto something, and continued, "want to know what he thaid to me when you wath in hothpital?" The nerd felt the tiniest bit victorious as Eridan slowly turned to look at him, "he thaid that he wished you wath leth like _you_. Ithn't that jutht horrible? Your own _dad_ can't actually thtand you. Hey, here'th an idea, how about we phone him up and athk him what he-"

The words caught in Sollux's throat and his blood ran cold as Eridan cut him off with a croaky voice that sounded as though it had been overused for the past few days.

"Father's in hospital."


	47. A Tale of Scars

Sollux remained frozen as the shock wore off. He watched as Eridan's expression hardened into something cold, and unfamiliar.

"Look, Captor, you've apologised, so I hereby absolve you of any fuckin' guilt that's obviously gnawin' away at your insides," Eridan muttered, "you've done what you came here to do, now do me a favour an fuck off."

This kind of response usually would have rubbed Sollux up the wrong way, and would have had him retorting with an equally scathing comment, but he just couldn't do it. He wiped his mouth with the palm of his hand, and shook his head, "what happened to your dad?" The Gemini was almost shocked to hear just how soft his own voice was.

Eridan frowned, and pushed Sollux's hands from their position on his shoulders, then settled back into the freezing water, "why the fuck do _you_ care?" He hissed, once again staring straight ahead.

"I care because he'th your dad, Eridan. Now tell me what happened to him." Sollux could feel himself starting to get annoyed, but he didn't allow his temper to flare up, as it wouldn't have been fair.

Finally the Aquarius relented, "fine. If you're not goin' to leave me alone, then I guess I'll have to tell you," Eridan's voice became a little quieter, "he had a heart attack. He's been stressed with work, an it all got too much. All the fuckin' years a doin' so much finally caught up with him."

"Shit." Sollux nodded, and tried to comprehend just how much work the head of the Ampora family actually did, "I'm thorry to hear that."

Eridan's expression crumpled, and the anger slipped from his features, but he didn't speak.

Seeing the hipster with such a heartbroken expression made Sollux's chest fill with the uncomfortable feeling of pure pity. He opened his mouth to say something else, when Eridan suddenly sobbed.

"I had to go an see him, an he's got a fuckin' drip in his arm, Sol! He's all wired up like some kind a... He's..." Eridan's voice wavered, and cracked, "he's my fuckin' _dad_! He's supposed to be invvincible, an noww he's lyin' there in some fuckin' hospital bed, an I can't do anythin'! I can't evven help, an I'vve got to see him again today, an I just... I can't do it! I can't see him like that again! I just..." Eridan quickly covered his face with his hands, but Sollux had already seen the thick tears rolling down his cheeks. The hipster didn't bother to try and disguise the sounds he produced, and instead submerged himself under the water; bubbles began erupting from his mouth as he screamed in anguish under the surface.

It was the first time that Sollux had ever heard Eridan call his dad anything other than 'Father', and there was something truly bittersweet about it, "fuck, hey, come on." The Gemini reached into the frigid water, and pulled the plug; if he couldn't make Eridan sit up, he'd get rid of the water before the Aquarius made himself ill.

As the clear liquid drained away, Eridan looked up at Sollux furiously, "what the hell do you think you're doin'? I never said that you could-" His words became a garbled mess as Sollux sprayed him in the face with the shower attachment.

"Shut up, Eridan. I'm not doing thith for my own health… I'm trying to help you, now shut up and jutht accthept it." Sollux huffed, and stop spraying Eridan.

Once the tub was nearly empty, Sollux turned the taps on, and began refilling it with fresh, hot water. He poured a little bit of the lilac bubble-bath in, and swished the water around until the bubbles began forming, then he set himself to the harder task of getting Eridan undressed, "alright, ED, let'th get you out of thith piethe of shit, and get you washed." He pulled Eridan's arms out of the suit-jacket, and was surprised by the fact that the hipster had gone limp with compliance.

Eridan didn't fight, or move, as Sollux stripped him down to his boxers. He simply sat, and stared.

The taps were turned off as the water level rose high enough to reach Eridan's chest, and Sollux took the sopping wet clothes over to the shower, rung them out, then dropped them into the wash-basket. He quickly returned to Eridan's side, and sat on the edge of the bath, then picked up the shower attachment again.

This time, Sollux used one hand to gently tilt Eridan's head upwards; he knew that the hipster wasn't bothered by getting water in his eyes, but he felt the innate need to make sure that Eridan was comfortable. As he rubbed the coconut shampoo through the dark hair, his eyes flicked down to the lips he had kissed a hundred times before; they were turned downwards, and had become barely more than a thin line. He sighed, and forced himself to look away as the feeling of guilt began creeping through his brain once more.

When Eridan's hair was clean, Sollux squeezed a little shower-gel onto the dark purple shower-pouf, and began scrubbing at Eridan's arms and chest. It was easy for the nerd to switch off, and turn it into a clinical procedure, rather than something sweet, and he allowed his mind to wander to other things until he heard the raspy voice in front of him.

"Why are you doin' this?"

It barely sounded like a question, and instead, sounded more like a statement. There was hardly any change in tone or lilt, and it was said so quietly that Sollux barely heard it, "becauthe like I thaid earlier, I thtill give a shit about you. Now, ath thoon ath you're clean, I'm taking you to thee your dad." Before Eridan could even attempt to argue, he added, "I'll come with you, okay? I know I'm not much in the way of moral thupport, but I'll thtay with you."

After that, Eridan didn't bother trying to speak. He just allowed Sollux to help him get cleaned up, and got out of the bath when instructed to do so.

Sollux grabbed the one of the large mauve towels, and wrapped it tightly around Eridan. Before he could turn away to retrieve a hand towel to dry Eridan's hair with, he was suddenly struck by how small, and defeated, the hipster looked; it was as if all the fight and fire had died inside him, and he looked like a lost child.

These thoughts were pushed aside as Sollux began drying Eridan's hair; he quickly began searching his mind for something to talk about to fill the silence, "tho, here'th the plan. I'll grab you another thuit, and we'll get you drethed, and then we'll get you to the hothpital." Without waiting for a reply, Sollux quickly left the bathroom, once again returning to the ransacked bedroom; it was so surreal to see the hipster's home in such disarray.

Sollux carefully stepped over all the chunks of paper, and tried not to look at the portions of artwork on each piece. The wardrobe was filled with various garments, and Sollux frowned to himself as he tried to pick out a nice suit; it was strange, but a lot of the suits seemed brand new.

Did Eridan always own so many?

It didn't really seem that important as he made his way back to the bathroom, and returned to Eridan's side. The hipster hadn't moved a muscle, and was still sat on the rim of the bathtub, draped in the damp towel.

"Hey, Eridan. I got you thith one, ith it okay?" Sollux spoke as softly as he could, and held up a dark grey suit. It didn't surprise him when Eridan refused to look at him, "for fuckth thake, do I have to dreth you, too?"

The suit was snatched from his hands, and the towel fell to the floor as Eridan stood to get himself changed.

Sollux's eyes trailed downwards, and he felt a pang deep in his gut as he stared at the body he had mapped out, and memorised, with kisses on countless occasions. When Eridan turned his back to him to remove his soaking wet boxers, Sollux found himself wishing more than anything that none of this mess had happened, and that he could have been there for Eridan when he had found out about his dad. More than anything else, Sollux wished that he could wrap his arms around the hipster, hold him close, and soothe his inevitable inner-turmoil. He closed his eyes, and turned around to give Eridan a little privacy as he put his clothes on.

"I'm thorry."

Eridan stayed quiet as he changed, and he didn't reply until he was completely dressed, "okay." He said as he combed his fingers through his wet hair, and smoothed it all back.

With his hair swept back like that, and his features set in such a hardened state, there was no denying the fact that Eridan was an Ampora; it was almost scary how much he looked just like Oscar, and Cronus.

He didn't check his appearance in the mirror before straightening his tie, and leaving the room.

The fallen paper crinkled and sighed under Eridan's feet as he walked through the bedroom, and it was blatantly obvious that he just didn't give a shit any more. Sollux followed, but couldn't help but pick his feet up, and tread carefully.

Once they were out of the bedroom, Sollux found it a little easier to keep up with Eridan, and he shadowed his movements through the house. As they reached the front door, Sollux watched the hipster step into a pair of shoes, then continue walking; it was surreal to see Eridan not have to unlock the door, and it was even worse when he didn't wait on the doorstep to close the door for Sollux. He simply continued down the path, and got into the car, leaving the front door wide open, and Sollux in the doorway.

Sollux quickly closed the door to the house, and awkwardly followed Eridan into the car. He couldn't justify it, but he almost felt sick leaving the front door unlocked. It wasn't like he didn't leave his _own_ apartment unlocked half the time, but that wasn't the point, seeing _Eridan's_ house unlocked was just... _Wrong_.

"Tho, let'th get to the hothpital, then." Sollux said, trying to instigate some kind of conversation. He swallowed a lump in his throat when Eridan didn't respond.

The car ride was filled with an awkward silence that seemed to drown out the stupid music that blared out of the radio speakers. Neither spoke, although Sollux _did_ open his mouth to say something on a few occasions, but the words caught in his throat each time, and he just stayed quiet.

After what felt like an agonizingly long car journey, they finally arrived at the private hospital that Eridan had been in only a few weeks ago. Sollux continued to follow Eridan as the hipster left the car, but kept his head bowed a little as they walked towards the building.

The stench of cleaning products hit him like a sickening wall, and Sollux blanched ever so slightly; he absolutely hated the stench, and wished that he didn't have to linger in its presence. Then again, he promised Eridan that he would stay by his side, and he didn't want to break that promise; he had to prove that he could stick true to his word, and that he cared, and if this was the only way to do it, he'd just have to suck it up, and get on with it. Sollux took a deep breath to calm himself, and suppressed a gag as the clinical smell clung to the insides of his lungs; he reminded himself that he only had to stay for as long as Eridan wanted to, and afterwards, they would both be able to stand outside and breathe the fresh air again.

Being outside had never sounded so good.

As Eridan spoke to a nurse at the front desk, Sollux looked around himself; he hadn't really paid much attention to the hospital when he had come to visit Eridan, but now he could see just how much of a difference there was between normal and private hospitals.

In an attempt to distract himself from the bleach-like taste that was beginning to crawl down his throat, Sollux began reading one of the medical posters behind the desk. He had just gotten half way through a particularly informative poster concerning smoking, when Eridan began walking away down a corridor, "hey, wait up!" Sollux quickly made his way after him, and caught up without much effort.

Eridan didn't speak as he led Sollux through the corridors, and neither of them seemed to mind the silence. Once they had reached a room, Eridan stopped, "this is it. Father's in this one." His face was once again set in a stern way, and was without a trace of sadness or trepidation.

Once again, Sollux felt the need to at least _attempt_ to make Eridan feel better. He glanced at the man standing next to him, and decided that he definitely looked as though he needed something; he knew that Eridan was putting on a brave face, and was holding back from having another little breakdown, but he also knew that Eridan would surely need some kind of show of support.

He moved his hand a little to the left, and bumped his knuckles against the hipster's. When Eridan didn't pull his hand away, Sollux inwardly prepared himself, then slipped his hand against Eridan's, and held it gently.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled, not expecting an answer.

Before Eridan could say anything, or allow the silence to become awkward, the white door in front of them opened inwards, and Cronus stepped out. He looked a little surprised to come face-to-face with his brother, "oh, hey. What's shaking?"

Sollux blinked as Eridan's demeanor changed instantly. In a flash, Eridan instantly straightened his back, and squared his shoulders. He also squeezed Sollux's hand a little, "hey Cro, we're just on our way in to see Father. How is he?"

Cronus sighed, and closed the door behind himself to prevent their conversation from reaching the ears of the man inside, "he's still griping, and acting like he has some kind of stick up his ass, but that's nothing out of the usual with our old man, now is it?" He smirked, and Sollux thought that it appeared to be quite a relieved expression, "nice do by the way."

"Good to hear. Now if you don't mind, me an Sol are goin' to go in, an see him." It was almost refreshing to see Eridan puff his chest out like his usual confident self, and he reached forwards with his free hand to open the door.

Cronus stepped out of the way, and sat down on one of the chairs outside the room; Sollux's mind flashed back to the last time he had seen the greaser sat on one of those chairs; he had been slumped forwards with his head in his hands, looking as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Hand in hand, Eridan and Sollux walked into the room, where they saw Oscar sitting up in bed.

"Boys." He acknowledged them both with his gruff voice, and gave them a curt nod.

It was surreal to see the eldest Ampora wearing a hospital gown, and not in a suit, though his hair was combed back in his usual fashion.

"Sol, can you wait outside for me? I just remembered that I really need to speak to Father alone." Eridan held Sollux's concerned gaze, and gave his hand a small, reassuring squeeze, "I appreciate you comin' with me, but I got this."

"You sure?" Sollux said quietly, relishing in the feeling of the hand holding his own so tightly.

Eridan nodded, and gave a small smile, "I'm sure."

Sollux tried to return the smile as Eridan released his hand, and he left the room, offering one quick glance back at the Ampora men before he closed the door. His hand lingered on the door handle, but he forced himself to pull away, and sit down in the chair next to Cronus.

"What's up, chief?"

For the first time in his life, Sollux was completely unsure whether or not he _should_ say anything. He bit his lip gently, and considered the fact that the greaser could, and probably _would_ , kick his ass if he knew what had happened between him and Eridan.

Then again, maybe he already knew. Sollux honestly didn't know what Eridan had told anyone.

Cronus leant back in his chair, and regarded the nerd quietly, "has something happened between you and my brother?" He asked coolly.

"Maybe." Telling the truth seemed like the best thing to do, even if it _did_ end up with him being beaten black and blue.

"Look, it's not like I'm writing a book, or anything, but if it concerns my brother, I'd prefer to know." Cronus dropped the dog-eared magazine he'd been reading down onto the table, "give me the bobbed version, though, because Eridan'll be back soon."

Sollux took a calming breath, and fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie, "okay, so here'th what'th happened." He was far too tired to try and think of a way around his lisping, so he just rolled with it and didn't bother hiding it, "Eridan found out that me and my exth-girlfriend have been hanging out with eachother, and he flipped hith nut about it… Although that'th probably becauthe he thinkth that she kithed me, becauthe of a mithunderthtanding through a textht that she thent me… But she didn't actually kith me, she just _tried_ to, but I fucking thtopped her, I thwear!"

Cronus stayed quite, and this worried Sollux a little, so he continued his rant, "I know I should have told Eridan about hanging out with her, but I couldn't! It would have pithed him off, but he found out anyway, and fuck, I'm thuch a shit perthon, I know!" He ran his hands through his hair in annoyance with himself, and turned away from the blue eyes that were watching him, "I never wanted to hurt him. He meanth the world to me, and I fucked it all up. I fucked everything up. I don't detherve to be anywhere near him, but I want to make sure that he'th okay, and I thtill, I _really_ thtill…"

His words cut off as a hand gently tilted his chin upwards, and Sollux found himself staring into bright blue eyes once again; Cronus smirked, and leant a little closer, "listen, kitten, I know how you must be feeling, and that's a real bite. But why are you even wasting your time chasing that closet-case, when you can have the better package right here?"

Sollux's eyes widened, and he had to take a moment to try and process what he had just heard, "what?"

"I'm saying that you don't have to deal with Eridan's bitching anymore, and you can have _me_ , instead." Cronus' words didn't hold any humour, and Sollux didn't believe that the man was joking; he glanced downwards to watch as Cronus' lips quirked upwards in amusement.

Cronus' lips were slightly thinner than Eridan's, but his eyes were so similar, it was a little like being nose-to-nose with Eridan again.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Sollux spat, pushing the larger man away in disgust, "go fuck yourself, Ampora."

As he fell back against his own chair, Cronus' face was lit up with a wide grin, "well you passed the test with me, chief. There's no way a cheater could ever resist an invitation from _me_. Don't worry your pretty, little head about me, chief, I don't fuck with people who are already spoken for." He wiggled his eyebrows, "so here's the deal, I'll believe you when you said that you didn't kiss that doll, but still, if you and Eridan split, why are you here now?" He picked his magazine back up, but didn't open it.

Sollux shrugged, still feeling a little on-edge, "becauthe he theemed like he didn't want to be alone, and I wanted to be here for him if he needed me."

It looked as though Cronus was about to say something, but the door to Oscar's room opened, and Eridan returned. He looked at them both, "Cro, I don't know what you've been sayin' to Sollux, but I want you to stop." After ignoring the look of mock-outrage on his brother's face, Eridan turned to Sollux, "Father wants to speak with you. Alone."

Sollux felt his stomach begin to churn with anxiety. Why would Oscar want to speak with him privately? Oh God, what if Eridan had finally informed him of their break-up, and he wanted to _have words_ with him?

He swallowed a lump in his throat, and stood up slowly, "yeah, sure." It didn't help that Eridan's expression was completely unreadable once again, but regardless of this, Sollux pushed the thoughts of running for his life to one side, and made his way back into the hospital room.

"Take a seat." Oscar motioned towards the seat next to his bed, and Sollux didn't dare hesitate before closing the door behind himself, and sitting down on it; resigning himself to the inevitable ass kicking.

"I wanted to speak with you in private, Sollux, an tell you a few stories about my boy an me." His voice was cool, and was without a trace of the rage or fury that the Gemini had been expecting.

Sollux simply nodded, and clasped his hands together in his lap, "okay." He tried to keep his own expression as calm and hardened as possible, but god damn, Oscar was fucking intimidating as hell, even when he was wearing a fucking hospital gown.

Oscar nodded once more, and held Sollux's mismatched gaze evenly, "has my boy ever told you how I got my scars?" He brought a hand up, and motioned towards the gnarled scars that trailed over his face.

"No." There was no denying that Sollux had been curious about it, but he hadn't dared to ask anyone for the story.

"When I was a younger lad, I used to work on one a those Alaskan fishin' boats. We would work through the most gruellin' weather just to land ourselves the best catches." The way that Oscar's chest puffed out reminded Sollux of Eridan, and he knew that the man must have been very proud of his past, "we lost many a good man on those expeditions, an not a day or night went past that I didn't think that I would be next. But, it was worth it to know that my family was provided for, an that they'd never go without."

Oscar took a sip of water, and set the glass down on the little table next to him, "when I had been doin' this job for more years than I care to mention, I had seen more than my fair share a storms, but I was the kind a guy to stand at the helm an do whatever was needed a me. Anyway, the final expedition I went on was the worst fuckin' storm I had ever seen in my life." He sighed wistfully, and his gaze seemed so far away, as if he was remembering that awful experience for the first time in so long, "the rain was lashin' down, an the waves were higher than any I'd known. The boat was rockin' like you couldn't imagine, an everyone was screamin' orders at eachother, tryin' to be heard over the sea an thunder."

Sollux sat, transfixed, completely silent.

"The wind was goin' wild, an one a my men went overboard from the force a the storm." The wistful look on his face has dissolved, "so I did what anyone in my position would do, an I grabbed the nearest rope an leapt overboard after them."

"Holy shit." Sollux whispered.

Oscar smiled faintly at Sollux's tiny outburst, "the water was absolutely freezin', an I could barely hold my head above the waves, but I found him an grabbed hold a him. Thankfully, some a the other men were smart enough to pull us both back up onto the deck." He shrugged, "unfortunately, in the ensuin' chaos, ropes an riggin' started haulin' themselves out a place, left, right, an centre. Some a the ropes ended with these awful hooks we used for the bigger fish, an because a the wind flingin' them around, a split—ended one slashed me across the face, an nearly ripped my nose clean off my head."

Sollux blinked slowly, barely daring to breathe for fear of interrupting the story.

"I was lucky to walk away from that with both a my eyes intact, but this thing serves to remind me a where I came from." Oscar sniffed indignantly, "a course after that, I decided that I was goin' to start my life again, an that I wasn't goin' to do anythin' that would prevent me from bein' there to raise my own boys right. But their mother decided that she couldn't deal with havin' a family anymore. She said that she didn't want to stay with me, an that she didn't want to see me run every penny I'd earned into the ground, an that I wasn't 'the man she fell in love with anymore'." He said bitterly.

Oscar wasted no time in continuing, "after that, she just left. My scars hadn't even begun healin' yet, an she didn't even seem to give half a shit about the lads. I think her bags were already packed, to be honest." He ran a hand down his own chest, "I'm just thankful that me an her never got married, an that she never asked for anythin' when she left. I hope she's kickin' herself, because I made my way in the world, an am worth more than anythin' she'll ever know."

Sollux cleared his throat, finally out of his daze, "why are you telling me about ED'th mum?" He asked quietly, not wanting to sound rude, but just not understanding the reason why.

"I told you before that I'm leavin' the business to Eridan, an I've been thinkin' about family a lot, considerin' my current situation." He touched his chest as if to illustrate this point, "I want everythin' I've built for my family to be passed down through the generations, an through my _own_ bloodline, which means that I'm relyin' on my boys to produce an raise kids a their own. Do you see what I'm getting' at?"

"Uhh, I think tho… You're thaying you want Eridan to have thome kidth?" Sollux tilted his head questioningly, grasping at straws.

Oscar nodded, "exactly. But I know that he's… The way he is, which means that there's no hope for any kind a natural conception. But I'm hopin' that he'll find some kind a surrogate, so that my bloodline can continue, because fuck knows _what_ Cronus is goin' to end up with."

"Oh, right." Sollux was a little shocked about the shit coming out of the elder Ampora's mouth, but then again, he didn't know what kind of thing rich people had to think about when they had children. Especially when it came to ensuring that there would be an heir.

A slightly awkward silence descended between them, and they both mulled over the details of the conversation. Finally Oscar spoke, "Eridan seemed pretty happy with you, though."

Sollux quickly looked up from his clasped hands in surprise, "what?"

"When you came to visit. Eridan seemed the happiest he'd been in a long time." Oscar's eyebrows knotted together slightly, and he seemed to be thinking again, "I don't want to know the ins an outs a what you two get up to, but if you two are goin' to be lookin' at some kind a future together, then maybe he'll be willin' to take on the business without arguin' as much. He'll be wantin' to secure the future for the both a you."

"Oh… Yeah." Sollux looked down at his knees, once again feeling like the biggest tool in the world. He barely even listened as Oscar changed the subject back to things he was more comfortable speaking about.

"Let me tell you somethin', lad. I never forgot the thrill a the hunt, though. That's why I made sure to teach my boys how to hunt. A course, Cronus never really took to it, but you can bet yer arse that Eridan was a fuckin' natural." He smiled proudly, "when my boy was wearin' his glasses, he had the eyes of a hawk, an could shoot anythin' he set his mind to. You should a seen him shootin' pheasants."

Sollux hesitated, "wait, really? ED told me that he wouldn't shoot anything but clay pigeonth."

Oscar rolled his eyes, "he probably just wanted to save face in front a you. No, he was an amazin' hunter, an he took to shootin' like a fish to water."

"Oh." Sollux thought about it a little to himself, then shrugged, "he didn't have to lie to me."

"Hmm, well, unfortunately, he's a sensitive lad. Oh, speakin' a which," Oscar reached over to clap a hand to Sollux's shoulder, "I should be thankin' you for sortin' out his appearance! I know that he doesn't mind wearin' his suits, but I'm wonderin' what you could a possibly said to him to get him to not make his hair all flamboyantly."

This made Sollux frown, "I didn't thay or do anything. He wath in a rush to come here, tho he didn't have time to do it."

Oscar nodded once again, and crossed his arms over his chest, "I see. Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd maybe tell him that you _like_ seein' his hair this way, an maybe you could mention somethin' about getting' rid a that bloody purple bit." This was more of an instruction than a request, and Sollux felt himself starting to seethe.

"Oh yeah, and while I'm at it, how about I tell him that hith glatheth aren't up to your thtandardth, too?" Sollux retorted, sarcastically. He stood up, and bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying something that he'd definitely regret later, "look, I don't want him to change in any way, and neither should you. He'th your thon, not your employee."

Oscar raised an eyebrow in response, and watched coolly as Sollux walked over to the door.

"I'm going to go thee if Eridan'th okay." Sollux turned as he placed a hand on the door handle, "I really hope that you're back on your feet thoon, and I hope you get better quickly."

Eridan and Cronus both looked up from their chairs as Sollux came through the door, and he was surprised when Eridan got up to greet him, "everythin' okay, Sollux?"

"Well," Sollux opened his mouth to tell Eridan all about the things that Oscar had said to him, but he swallowed the words, "yeah, we jutht talked about thingth, and work, and all that kind of thtuff. Don't worry about it." He shrugged, and ignored the look of confusion on the faces of the brothers.

There was a flicker of distrust in his eyes, but Eridan shrugged, and stood up, "whatever. Cro, we're leavin', I'll see you whenever I see you. Come on, Sol, I'll drive you home."

"Bye, chief." Cronus waved a hand nonchalantly, but gave Sollux a wink, "see you later, kitten."

Sollux didn't return the wave, or the smile, and instead grimaced as he walked beside Eridan.

The second they were out of the building, Sollux took a deep breath, and tried to fill his lungs with as much fresh air as he could. He turned to speak to Eridan, but the Aquarius' expression stopped him from saying anything at all.

Once they were back in the car, Eridan slumped against the steering wheel, careful to avoid the horn, "fuck my life." He mumbled into his sleeves, "why _this_? Why _now_?" He closed his eyes as he straightened back into a sitting position, and stared at the roof of the car in defeat.

"I'm thorry." Sollux mumbled, and he reached over to put an arm around him, "you mutht be tho pithed off, I can't even imagine what'th-" He shut his mouth with a snap as Eridan suddenly grabbed him into a hug.

"This ain't _fair_! This isn't what was supposed to happen!" Eridan gripped Sollux tightly, and clawed at his jumper to try and pull him even closer, "I'm just so tired, Sol. I haven't slept properly in so long, I'm doin' everythin' I possibly can, an I'm just so fuckin' tired!"

When Eridan's words became sobs once again, Sollux wrapped both arms around him, and held him. Despite the fact that he could feel the thick frames of his glasses digging into his chest, he kept quiet, "hey, don't worry about it. We'll get you home, and you can have a thleep, okay? It'th going to be okay, ED."

Before Sollux could get too comfortable, Eridan pulled away, and wiped his eyes angrily, "you have no idea, Sollux. You don't even _know_ , okay?" He looked longingly at the nerd for a second, before starting the car, "just forget it. It's got nothin' to do with you now, so… Forget it."

The car journey home was much more awkward than the previous one, and Sollux couldn't help but shift uncomfortably; he wanted to talk to Eridan, but the hipster had once again turned the radio up so loudly that it was hard to hear himself think.

When they pulled up outside Sollux's apartment, Eridan turned the radio off, "thanks for comin', an for stayin' with me."

"Don't worry about it, like I thaid, I thtill give a shit about you." Sollux hesitated as he unclipped his seatbelt, "thpeaking of which, I wanted to athk you thomething." He decided that now was definitely as good a time as any to bring it up. Afterall, surely Eridan knew just how much he meant to him now?

Eridan looked slightly disinterested, "ask away."

Sollux mentally prepared himself for the speech he would need to reel off, "Well, I wanted to maybe talk about uth, and apologithe, and-"

"There is no _us_." Eridan's words were short, and sharp, and he glared at Sollux. The way he had spoken had left no room for argument, whatsoever.

Sollux's chest sank further than he ever thought possible. He stared into the cold blue eyes of the man he had loved, and nodded numbly, "yeah, okay." He mumbled, "thorry, I shouldn't have thaid anything… I… Later, Eridan." With that, he stepped out of the car, and slammed the door behind himself.

The quiet rumble of the engine fell on deaf ears as Sollux ascended the steps to the apartment building's front door, but Eridan's final words to him echoed around his head as he stepped into the building.

_There is no us._

The memory of cold, and hate-filled, blue eyes bore into Sollux's mind, and he bit down on his own lip viciously in an attempt to silence the sounds that bubbled up at the back of his throat. A feeling of nausea washed over him in a sickeningly warm wave, and Sollux found himself unable to lift his keys to unlock his own front door.

The tiniest part of him was grateful that he had at least managed to get himself into the corridor of the apartment building, before his knees buckled underneath him, and he slid to the floor, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes as silent sobs wracked his frame.

_There is no us._

As Eridan's last words to him swirled around his head, Sollux whimpered pitifully, and clutched at his own face, barely feeling the sting of the cool, sharp metal of his keys against his cheek.

Of course there was no _'us'_. He had made sure to fuck that up himself, now hadn't he? Because there was _nothing_ that Sollux ever loved that _didn't_ get fucked up, the only difference was that this time it was undeniably _his_ fault that it fell to shit.

"No, no, no," he whispered with a pathetically quiet voice, "not now, _pleathe_ not now."

He felt his chest tighten in the familiar way, and Sollux tried to slow his rapid breathing down, but it was too late, the panic attack had started, and there was nothing he could do to prevent the oncoming anxiety; he forced his knees to press against his chest, and he buried his face against them, quickly wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to soothe himself.

"Pleathe," he whispered desperately to no one, and anyone, "help me..."


	48. Please Don't Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank you all for your patience. I know that I'm not exactly the most frequent of updaters, so I'd really like to just say thanks.
> 
> Oh my goodness, would you believe it, with the addition of this chapter, Because of Books is now officially longer than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Holy shit. Thank you all so much for encouraging me to get this far with it, and for reading it! I wouldn't have done it without all of your kind words, you are all amazing.
> 
> Thank you for reading, returning, and commenting, and as always, thank you all for being so fucking awesome.
> 
> TW: car crash descriptions.

The previous day had hit Sollux pretty hard. During his panic-attack in the hallway, he had managed to summon enough willpower to throw an arm out sideways to punch his own front door, which had thankfully encouraged a pissed-off Karkat to answer. The moment Karkat had seen Sollux, he had gone straight into best-friend mode, and had comforted the Gemini, who explained in-between choked gasps what had happened with Eridan.

Karkat had offered a sympathetic ear, but had also held his ground with the fact that Sollux had to take some responsibility. Afterwards, he rolled his eyes, and helped Sollux into the apartment building. Once they were both in Sollux's room, Karkat dropped himself onto the beanbag, while Sollux curled up in bed; they stayed like this, completely silent, for about an hour, at which point Karkat had excused himself to go to work.

Sollux had no idea how long he had been lying in the same place, and he didn't bother asking Karkat whenever the shorter man came in to drop off food and drink. The only time he bothered to move was when he needed to piss, and even then, it was only when the urge became so great that Sollux thought that his bladder would explode.

It was now Friday night, and Sollux hadn't eaten or drank in a day and a half.

This was really starting to worry Karkat, and after placing a glass of water and a pack of crisps onto Sollux's desk, he hesitantly left home for work once again.

The fatigue had been creeping over Sollux, but he physically couldn't care any less than he already did. In his mind, he deserved to feel like shit, because he was a massive fuck-up who had thrown away the one person he had been crazy for.

Even so, it was starting to get harder to keep his eyes open, and despite the fact that Sollux was trying to stop himself from falling asleep, he kept allowing himself to keep his eyes closed for just a second longer than a normal blink should take. Then two seconds… Then….

Sollux knew he was dreaming the moment the world came into focus; there was no way to tell where the ground ended, and the sky began, because everything was the same sickeningly clinical white. Except one thing.

In the distance was a smudge of colour, and Sollux had to shield his eyes using a hand just to focus on it. He waved an arm, and called out, but his voice was lost to the blank world that his dreams always seemed to inhabit. He huffed, and began his march over to the object in the distance, but his feet felt incredibly heavy, and it was almost like he was trying to walk through chest-height water.

Regardless of this, Sollux kept moving forwards; the bright white glared like a mirror reflecting sunlight, and he had to keep an arm up to partially cover his face just to see.

When the nerd finally reached the block of colour, he realised that he was looking at a wall of books. He frowned, and ran his hands down the spines, then moved to make his way around it, hoping to see who had built it. Unfortunately, the dream was fucking with him, and every time he took a step, another column of books appeared. He groaned, and kept walking along the wall, watching as hundreds of books appeared in perfect piles.

In the end, Sollux decided that it would be better if he just gave up on trying to get around it. Instead of making the rational decision to try climbing _over_ the head-height wall, Sollux planted his hands on the books, and pushed with all his strength; he wanted to see the damn thing collapse, because now, it was just pissing him off.

Just as Sollux thought that he was making a little head-way with moving the innumerable books, a voice sounded beside him.

"What the hell are you doin', Sol?"

Sollux quickly straightened up, and looked at the man now leaning against the book shelf beside him, "thith wall wath pithing me off, and I couldn't get patht it." He mumbled, subconsciously rubbing his hands down the front of his own shirt in an attempt to get rid of any wrinkles that there may have been.

Eridan raised an eyebrow, "so you wanted to _push it down_ instead?"

"Yeah, alright, now that you mention it, it doeth thound a little thtupid." Sollux smiled, and mimicked Eridan's pose, "tho, where did all of thethe come from?"

"They're mine. I brought them." Eridan replied nonchalantly, "these happen to be all the books I've ever read… Well, I mean, it _would_ be all the books I've ever read, if you'd have kept walkin' a little further." He fondly ran his fingers down the various spines of a few books, then returned his gaze to Sollux.

Sollux felt his heart jump slightly; it made him feel immeasurably relieved to see Eridan's ocean-blue eyes lacking any horrific, and cold hatred. He took a step forwards and reached out, carefully cupping the face of the man he adored, "I love your eyeth, ED." This, of course, was no lie, and the Gemini felt a tiny amount of happiness to finally return the compliment that had meant so much to him so long ago.

The blue eyes turned sympathetic as Eridan moved himself out of the reach of Sollux's hands, "Sol, I'm not the one you want, and you know that."

This made Sollux frown in confusion, but he nodded, "I know you're not real, or anything, but thtill… I gueth it'th nithe to pretend." His chest felt a little tighter, and he rubbed the back of his own neck. When the inquisitive blue eyes that were staring at him became too much, Sollux groaned, and leant backwards against the books, then slid down until he landed on his ass, "damn it, ED. Why did you do it? Why did you have to be tho… _You_?"

This comment seemed to catch Eridan's attention, and he moved to sit down next to Sollux, "what do you mean?" He asked quietly.

Once again, Sollux made a frustrated noise, and he ruffled his own hair in annoyance, "why did I have to fall in love with you? Why did you have to turn out to be thuch a fucking good guy? Why did you have to try tho hard to make everything perfect?" The rambling had started, and Sollux didn't see a stopping point to it, "why did it have to be you? Why did you have to be the betht thing to ever happen to me? Why did you have to be tho perfect? And… And… And why the hell wath your phone off?"

That last outburst surprised Sollux himself, but he really had been wondering about that.

Eridan tilted his head to the side, and observed the Gemini, his voice was smooth when he answered, "okay, first things first, I was never anythin' but myself, so don't start questionin' my actions. _You_ fell in love with _me_ , I didn't fuckin' force you to. We just clicked, is all." His gaze did not waver as he spoke, "an you _do_ realise that I'm not actually the real Eridan, right? I'm just a figment a your dream, so I can't really be answerin' shit that you don't know the answers to yourself. So I don't fuckin' know why my phone was turned off."

This was nothing like what Sollux wanted to hear, but he nodded. Despite the fact that he knew that the Eridan sat beside him was in no way real, he couldn't hold back from whispering, "I'm thorry, ED. I'm tho thorry for what I did to you."

"Well _I_ know that, but he… The real me probably doesn't know just how sorry you actually are, now does he? Like I said, I'm a figment a your imagination, an I know everythin' that you do."

Sollux turned his attention upwards, as Eridan was suddenly missing from his side; the hipster was now sat atop the wall, leisurely kicking his legs out, "do you remember me once tellin' you that books an libraries were part a my sanctuary?"

"…Yeah, but what'th that got to do with anything?"

"Well," Eridan stared out across the expanse of nothingness wistfully, almost as if there was something beautiful in the white expanse that hadn't yet made itself visible, "in all the time we were together, did you ever see me pickin' up a book?"

Sollux frowned; he thought back, and realised that he was right, Eridan had barely visited the library, and had hardly even picked up a book since they had started their relationship. He looked up at Eridan, and waited for an explanation.

"You see? You know, you really should thank your subconscious brain for pickin' up on this kind a stuff… Anyway, it's my most humble of opinions that maybe I… He… We? Found a new sanctuary, an livin' through books didn't hold any appeal anymore." Eridan raised an eyebrow, and a smile tugged at one side of his mouth, "I do hope you see what I am getting' at here, Sol. I'm sayin' that _you_ was what had become the new sanctuary. Or rather, the life that you both had was somethin' so wonderful, that Eridan didn't see the need to fill his time with wishin' he was somewhere else, or even someone else."

"That doethn't really make thenthe… Eridan loveth hith bookth, didn't he?"

The dream-Eridan rolled his eyes, and folded his arms, "Look, I'm not sayin' that my word is fact, I'm just sayin' what you an I are thinkin'. Then again, this might just be a case a wishful thinkin', because this is all just speculation on our parts." The brief smile was gone now, "you really want him to have loved you so much that he misses you as much as you miss him, huh?"

This struck a chord inside Sollux, and he stayed silent for a moment, not wanting to admit anything. "ED, I jutht want to wake up now." Sollux said finally, looking down at his mismatched shoes.

Eridan stepped off the high bookshelf, and landed gracefully. He moved himself in front of Sollux, and tilted his chin upwards, so that their eyes met, "we both know it doesn't work like that." He murmured, tilting his head to the left and leaning slightly closer.

Sollux closed his eyes as a reflex, and awaited the feel of lips against his own, but nothing happened. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw that he was alone; even the plentiful books had abandoned him.

A soft fog had rolled in, which thankfully made the world seem a less blindingly bright. Sollux forced himself to stay in the same spot, waiting for Eridan to return to his side; he knew that it was very likely a futile gesture, but he really didn't want to move and risk being whisked away to the inevitable ending these kinds of dreams always held for him.

He shivered, a little, as the fog had brought a chill along with it, but before Sollux could get too pissed off, he noticed a small bundle of blue next to him.

Eridan's scarf was coiled up in a pile on the ground, and Sollux gently lifted it. He glanced around himself, hoping that he could return it to the hipster, but there was no sign of him.

Finally, Sollux gave up hoping that the man he loved would return, and huffed as he wrapped the soft, striped, fabric around his neck, relishing in the warmth it provided. He jumped as a hand laid itself on his shoulder, "fuck! ED, I-" He whirled around, and saw that the hand didn't belong to Eridan, but instead to Aradia.

She smiled widely, "hello, Sollux."

Sollux blinked, and stared for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Aradia snorted, and laughed, "oh for heaven's sake, you can greet me back, you idiot! I'm not about to jump your bones here." She leant closer, and raised an eyebrow mischievously, "this isn't _that_ kind of dream."

This made Sollux crack a small smile, and he shook his head, "hey, AA." Before he allowed her to say anything back, he held up a hand, "I don't know what my thubconsciouth is trying to tell me by bringing you here, but I'll be honetht, I'm jutht happy not to be thtuck on my own." He felt the platonic affection swell inside of him at the sight of her, and he couldn't help but feel completely _relieved_ to see his friend in his dream for once.

"Like everything else in this world, my being here is only temporary. So make the most of it, because we are doomed to run out of time." Aradia continued to grin, and the fog became a little thinner to reveal a path between two rows of varying sized taxidermy animals. She held her arm outwards at an angle, and offered it to Sollux, "shall we take a walk through my landscape? I trust you won't attempt to either climb over the animals, or push them over."

After linking his arm with Aradia's, Sollux began walking. He found himself studying the details of the creatures on either side of them; some of them looked incredibly alive with their glistening eyes, and life-like poses; while others didn't even seem to actually exist in his dreams properly, as they flickered in and out of existence, or appeared to be made out of the static screens that televisions sometimes had.

While they walked, Sollux tried to think of something that he wanted to talk about, but he could only think of how he wanted to apologise.

"You didn't have to, you know."

Sollux quickly looked away from the frog he had been staring at so intently, and watched Aradia instead, "I didn't… I didn't thay anything." He mumbled, quieter than he had meant to.

Aradia simply rolled her eyes, "and you don't have to. Didn't you learn anything from being sat with Eridan? We aren't real, and we know everything that you do." She tugged at the arm looped through hers, playfully, "and I'm telling you that you don't need to apologise to me. I mean, if it'll make you feel better about this situation, then go ahead, but we both know that it won't actually work."

"I thee." Sollux turned his attention back to the white frog, and focused on its large, glassy, burgundy eyes, "I don't know what I'm thuppothed to be doing here. I don't know why I'm putting mythelf through thith, or any of thith." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, and groaned, "why ith it that I can't even let mythelf have my dreamth ath a fucking ethcape?"

"We both know the answer to that, Sollux." Aradia's tone was gentle, and caring, "you hate yourself for too many things, and you think that you somehow deserve it."

Sollux kept his eyes closed, but instead of the comforting darkness this action would usually give, he still saw the whiteness of the world around him.

"Sollux, you need to realise that there _are_ things in this world that _are_ your fault. You could have done many things to stop this particular event from occurring, but at the same time, you cannot blame yourself for things that were out of your control." Aradia's voice was a little sterner now, and her grip on Sollux's arm tightened, "you know how these dreams always end, and you know that you cannot run away from what you witnessed, but for God's sake, Sollux, torturing yourself to the point of being too afraid to sleep is _not_ how you should deal with it."

"Well what else am I thuppothed to do!?" Sollux suddenly shouted. He stared down at Aradia with pleading eyes, silently begging her to give him the answers he had so desperately needed to hear for so long, "am I thuppothed to lithten to that hippy bullshit of finding the anthwer deep inthide mythelf, or that I'm a good perthon _really_ , or that I'll jutht _'get over it'_?"

"I don't know, Sollux!" Aradia's voice reached the same volume as his, and eyebrows knitted together in frustration, "you seem to think that I have some kind of answer other than what I've already given you! You're _not_ a bad person, okay? You're a jackass, and you're a twat, but you're not _bad_!"

Sollux blinked, feeling a little surprised at the fact that Aradia was speaking to him in such a way, and he had to remind himself that it wasn't _really_ her.

"Now you listen to me, Sollux." Aradia pointed a finger at him, and looked like some kind of strict parent, "you made a mistake by not telling Eridan about me, and you made a mistake about not telling me about Eridan. But let's be honest, I was on a plate for you, and you turned me down. You buggered up, but that doesn't mean that you're some kind of evil person! So yeah, feel guilty about that, feel guilty about the fact that you was stringing along two people, and feel guilty that it all shattered around you horrifically, but don't you _dare_ blame yourself for the accident!"

"I can't help it." Sollux blurted out, and he averted his eyes as Aradia took his face in her hands to prevent him from turning his head away.

"I know you can't. But you cannot allow it to control you, either." Her voice had returned to the gentle tone, and she finally let go of Sollux's face in favour of putting a hand on his shoulder, "now listen, as much as I'd love to say that I'm made of time, and that we can sort through all your problems right now, I do believe that it is time you moved on from me. There's someone who you need to speak with next… I wish I could tell you that this will be easy, but that's a lie."

Sollux looked down at the hand on his shoulder, "AA, I want to wake up now. I don't _want_ to thee what cometh nextht."

Aradia smiled softly, her sadness-filled eyes betraying the seemingly happy expression, "we both know it doesn't work like that." She reached up, and covered his eyes with a hand, blocking everything from view.

Sollux closed his eyes instinctively, and when he opened them, Aradia and her dead menagerie was gone.

The fog had replaced them, but one thing remained; next to Sollux's feet was a large, burgundy woolly jumper. Sollux bent down, and picked it up, once again thankful that his dream was being forgiving enough to allow him these extra pieces of clothing, as the temperature had dropped even more, and Sollux could see the faintest clouds of breath appearing from his lips whenever he breathed.

He had barely pulled the jumper on before he felt someone slam into him at an incredible speed, "JETHUTH, FUCK!" Sollux screamed as he spun around, and came face-to-face with a mirror image.

The reflection laughed, and grabbed hold of him around his chest, then picked him up and swung him around in a playful hug, "Tholluxth!"

The second Sollux's feet had planted themselves back on the floor, he returned the excited expression, "hey, Tuna."

Mituna ran a hand through his own extremely fluffy hair, and he shifted his fringe so that his eyes were visible, "what'th up?" He asked, a smile seemingly permanently plastered on his face.

Sollux shrugged, and sat down on one of the swings that had appeared in his world; he kicked his feet and began moving as Mituna did the same, "lotth of shit, to be honetht."

"You're not thuppothed to thwear around me, remember?" Mituna's voice was clear as a bell, and Sollux froze as he was shocked at the clarity of each word, "Dad would flip if he heard even a fraction of the shit you thay behind clothed doorth."He laughed nasally at the thought of it.

"Tuna? Your voithe…" Sollux's words came out in a hushed whisper, and he stopped his swing's movements in order to lean forwards, and look at his brother more closely, "and you…"

Mituna raised an eyebrow, and smirked, "after everything that'th happened in thith dream, you're really wondering how _thith_ ith pothible? _Really_?" He snorted, and shook his head, "damn, you can be a real tit when you want to be." With that, he kicked off, and began swinging leisurely backwards and forwards.

For a moment, Sollux stayed quiet; he was wrapped up in his own thoughts, and for a long while, he didn't know what to say, or how to react. Finally, he followed Mituna's lead, and began swinging, "ith thith the part where you try and tell me that I'm not a bad perthon?" He asked, trying to hide the tired bitterness that threatened to taint his words.

"Not really." Mituna curled his legs up underneath himself, and then straightened them, forcing the swing to go higher, "ith thith the part where you try and apologithe for the crash?"

This made Sollux slow his own movements, and he closed his eyes again to take a second before replying, "I don't know, Tuna. I don't fucking know. I _want_ to apologithe, if that'th what you mean."

"Why?"

The question was simple, and it caught Sollux off-guard. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected that kind of retort, but at the same time, it really had shocked him. Sollux took a steadying breath, and watched his twin for a second, completely unused to seeing the intelligence in his eyes that was so much like his own, "becauthe I'm thorry it wath you."

"Why?"

This made Sollux feel a bit annoyed, it had been hard enough to reply, and yet this Mituna wasn't satisfied yet, "becauthe it could have been me, but it wathn't. I'm thorry that you got hurt, and that you're the way you are, I'm thorry that I couldn't protect you." He sagged against the chain of the swing, and avoided the gaze of the mismatched eyes watching him.

Mituna tilted his head, "you _do_ realithe that you couldn't have thtopped the collision, right? There wath nothing you could have done." Suddenly, the intelligence was replaced with the usual childlike enthusiasm, and Mituna perked up, "Tholluxth, you've thtopped thwinging! Come on, we have to try and get over the bar!" He reached across, and shook Sollux's swing, looking a little peeved.

Sollux blinked, and then smiled; he kicked off yet again, and kept going until Mituna laughed with glee. They swung next to eachother, occasionally reaching across to give the other a gentle shove in a childish way.

"Tholluxth, do I ever theem unhappy with the way I am?" Mituna asked, his voice clear once again, "do I ever theem like I'm mithing out on anything?" These questions were not asked in a cold manner, more like a curious one.

Even so, Sollux felt the trepidation and sadness creeping up his throat, "no, you're alwayth pretty happy, unleth you're confuthed, or can't underthtand thomething."

This answer made Mituna nod, and he hummed for a second, "then why do you feel tho guilty?"

Sollux shook his head, "you thaid it yourthelf, you're jutht a figment of my dream. You already know the anthwer to that, tho why are you athking me?"

"I want you to hear yourthelf thaying it." Mituna's voice veered dangerously close to sounding cruel, "tho thay it."

"No, Tuna, I don't-"

"THAY IT!"

Finally something snapped inside the nerd, and he felt the pent-up emotions of many, many years overflow, "becauthe after the accthident you became thupid, and you thuddenly wathn't my brother anymore! You never grew up, and it'th fucking fruthtrating becauthe we were thuppothed to alwayth have eachother, and I had to go on without you!" He screamed. It was strange, but he felt a horrific mix of relief, and unbridled anger rush over him all at once, "I know I'm a thelfish bathtard for thinking thith way, and I know that you thuffered more shit than I will _ever_ be able to comprehend, but you wath tho clever when we were kidth, and then I thuddenly had to… I had to tie your shoeth for you, and get you drethed, and help you cut up your food, and it wath like being tortured! I had to thee my own twin thtruggling to remember the alphabet! You wathn't the thame anymore, and I hated mythelf for feeling like that, but I couldn't help it!"

Throughout the speech, Mituna simply watched with a knowing expression.

"I wath the only one who remembered what happened to all of uth, and I thtill thee Mum'th fathe when I dream, and I had to thee yourth when I wath awake, and it wath thlowly killing me!" Sollux clenched his fists into the burgundy jumper he was wearing, and looked around himself desperately, searching for some kind of exit, "I never, _ever_ , thtopped loving you. No matter how many timeth I had to help you brush your teeth, or put your troutherth on, you wath thtill my brother. And when you learned to do that shit on your own I wath tho fucking proud of you… I jutht… I mithed the old you too." He quickly hid his face in his hands, and sniffed loudly. When he felt the arms of his twin brother wrap themselves around him, Sollux clung to him and sobbed.

They held onto eachother, and neither had to say a word; the dream-Mituna had of course known all of this, but Sollux had needed to admit it out loud, and to hear himself say it.

Finally, Mituna pulled away, "feeling better?"

"Not really." Sollux grumbled as he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his jumper, "I'm thorry."

"That'th the point I'm trying to make here, Tholluxth, you don't have to be thorry. None of thith ith your fault, and you don't have to try and shoulder all the blame." Mituna shrugged, and took a step backwards, his hands now in his pockets, "you're not a complete piethe of shit _all_ of the time." He snickered. He watched as Sollux stood to join him at his side, and they began strolling together through the fog.

Sollux smiled a little, "you know, it'th nithe to be able to walk with you, and not have to worry about holding your hand to thtop you from running off after a dog, or from being hit by a car."

"I'm not the one who should be careful around carth." Mituna replied, his gaze unfocused.

"What?" The comment had caught Sollux by surprise, and he didn't know whether this was a warning for himself, or someone else. He grabbed Mituna's arm, and tried to stop him from continuing to walk.

Mituna turned around, with an innocently playful smile on his face, "hey, Tholluxth, we should go out to get caketh together! We'll go thkateboarding, and then get cake, yeah?"

"Yeah…" Damn, there was no way that Sollux would be able to get any sense of the cryptic message out of Mituna now, but that didn't seem to matter, as Mituna had once again started to walk away into the thick fog, "wait, Tuna! Wait!"

"Do you remember why you call me Tuna?" A clear voice asked.

Sollux nodded, "yeah, becauthe I couldn't thay Mituna ath a kid, and when I thtarted giving everyone nicknameth, I didn't want to confuthe you by calling you thomething like 'MT'."

"You're not awful, Tholluxth. You do your betht, and you're not alwayth bad." Mituna finally turned around, but kept walking backwards.

Sollux stared at his twin, "Tuna, I don't want to wake up, I want to talk with you like thith thome more… But I know what'th going to happen nextht in thith fucking dream." He hesitated, before adding, "I really want to wake up now."

Mituna snorted as he laughed, and his eyes were filled with that unfamiliar intelligence once again, "Tholluxth, we both know it doethn't work like that." He blinked, and the intelligence was replaced by a goofy-grin, and his usual mischievousness, "you wank-thtain."

With that, the fog enveloped Mituna, and left Sollux alone once more.

Sollux glanced around himself, he didn't dare close his eyes for fear of opening them and being in that fucking car again. He couldn't handle that, not now, not when he didn't have someone to hold him close and whisper that everything was going to be okay when he awoke.

He knelt, and lifted Mituna's favourite yellow beanie hat off the ground, and pulled it onto his own head, as the temperature was freezing now, and Sollux could barely feel his hands and feet. He trudged on, and refused to succumb to the heaviness of his eyelids; he wouldn't allow the dream to change, he wouldn't allow the dream to play out its events the way it wanted.

As long as he kept moving, and focusing on going forwards, the dream couldn't change or force him to relive what had happened that day; Sollux frowned as the frigid fog around him began taking shape, but he tried not to pay any attention.

After a little while, the Gemini found himself walking through a crude, milky-white town; the buildings loomed overhead, though they hardly seemed solid, and smoke-like figures swayed this way and that, shifting around one another in a delicate dance.

Suddenly every figure stopped, and began swarming in one direction; they whispered in soft, echoing voices, and from what Sollux could tell, something big had happened. He followed them all, although he quickly found himself unable to change direction, as they pushed and pulled like a current in the sea, and he was directed to the place that they all seemed to want to be.

He realised too late that the dream had done what it had set out to do. The only difference was that this time he was on the other side.

In front of the circling mass of fog-figures was a flipped car.

Sollux felt his stomach drop heavily, and his heart leap into his throat. He reached out for the car, knowing that at any moment he would see his brother, and perhaps even himself, being pulled from the wreckage. But none of the figures stepped forwards.

This was wrong. All wrong.

For one thing, the car was the wrong colour. His mother had never driven a purple car, so why the hell was it…

Purple.

It all happened at once; the fog figures began blocking Sollux, and preventing him from getting any closer, still whispering with urgently quiet echoes. But there was no way in hell that Sollux would allow this to stop him, and he fought against them, screaming.

He had to make sure that it was a mistake, he had to make sure that it was a mistake, _he had to make sure it was a mistake_ …

Sollux slipped from the crowd's grasp, and although their fingers gripped at his jumper, he managed to pull away and tumble towards the car. His brain refused to acknowledge the red that covered the tarmac around the car, it refused to comprehend that awful, cloying smell that could only mean one thing, and it refused to believe that anything would be inside the vehicle.

As Sollux hurried through the growing red puddle, he tried to ignore the soft, wet noise his shoes were making; unfortunately, in his desperation to prove to himself that every instinct he had was wrong, he slipped.

Sollux fell to his hands and knees, and he felt the shards of glass bite into his palms as he crawled the last few feet; he was in agony as he reached for the door handle, but he didn't care, he just needed to see who was inside.

It couldn't be him, it just _couldn't_ , there had to be some kind of mistake, there had to be some kind of...

Sollux used the door to pull himself up, and leant against the car as he pulled the door open. When the purple chunk of hair, and thick black frames came into view, there was no mistaking it.

It was Eridan.

It was like being kicked in the chest, Sollux felt his breath hitch, and his thoughts became a mess; he hesitantly gave Eridan's shoulder a pat, his eyes widening as he saw the deep-red handprint he left on the hipster's jacket. It was so surreal to see Eridan hanging there like that in the flipped car, his head was tilted back. While his mind was in chaos, all Sollux could think about was getting Eridan out of the immediate vicinity of danger; he rationalised that the Aquarius would be fine, as long as he was out of the car.

Sollux wrapped an arm around Eridan, to prevent the hipster from landing head-first on the glass-strewn ground, then reached across with his free hand to unbuckle his seatbelt. Eridan slipped from the seat, and Sollux quickly stopped him from falling; he eased the Aquarius out of the wrecked vehicle, and sat down with him.

He didn't care about the way that red was seeping into his clothing.

"No, no, no…" Sollux whispered as he sat down; he pulled Eridan to his chest, and tried to ignore the red smears he left on his eyelids as he stroked a stray chunk of purple hair away from his eyes. _Oh God, those eyes_. They just _stared,_ as if there was nothing going on behind them.

It was almost as if Sollux was stood in a tunnel; all the sounds around him were echoed, and he couldn't focus on the distant whispers. He felt numb as his finger-tips trailed across the cheeks he had kissed, and the lips that had spoken words of love, and hate, and all things in-between.

He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. He was too numb to process what was happening.

Eridan's dull blue eyes continued to stare into Sollux's mismatched ones, but they did not plead for the Gemini to help him, or to mourn, or feel something, or… _Anything_.

They just stared silently, without a single flicker of Eridan's fire behind them.

Sollux's fingers gently tried to remove the maroon that had fallen from Eridan's nose across his lover's lips, but it was a futile attempt; everything he touched was being infected with even more red, and he was only making things worse. His own lips split into a grimace, and his shoulders hunched.

The whispers that surrounded him were growing in volume; they murmured with no clarity, which was enough to drive Sollux insane. He felt his insides burn with a sick anger, and he wanted nothing more than to rip the figures apart.

To calm himself a little, Sollux lovingly looked down at the man in his arms, and try to convince himself that Eridan would wake up at any moment. He _had_ to. The quietest voice inside his head tried to argue against this, but Sollux ignored it whole-heartedly, and instead used the sleeve of Aradia's jumper to wipe the smear of red away from Eridan's lips; the hipster took too much pride in his appearance to allow that much mess on his face. He gently used his sleeve to clean the red away from Eridan's cheeks, eyelids, and forehead.

"Get up, Eridan." He whispered, "come on."

But Eridan refused to acknowledge him.

The voice inside Sollux's brain was a little more urgent this time, and he was finding it harder to suppress it. Sollux argued with it that Eridan had ignored him like this before, it was just a sign of the hipster being angry as hell, but he knew a way around it.

"Your dad wath right about you, Eridan!" Sollux screamed, "do you hear me, you bathtard? I thaid your dad wath right! You're a dramatic shit, now GET UP!" It had worked once before; when Eridan was in the bath, and wouldn't respond, Sollux had resorted to screaming about Oscar, and it had worked. So why wasn't it working now?

"Pleathe, Eridan! Get up! Pleathe!" He desperately grabbed his ex-boyfriend, and shook him. His eyes widened as Eridan's head lolled forwards limply with the force of the Gemini's shaking, "no… Pleathe, no, not you… Not you, too…"

The dream erupted into noise as Sollux screamed mournfully.

He gripped Eridan, and held him close to his chest, searching the crowd wildly with his eyes for someone to step forward and help, but none of the fog-like forms moved; they simply watched, and whispered.

"HELP HIM!" Sollux begged, "HE WON'T WAKE UP! PLEATHE!"

His pathetic cries fell on deaf ears, and no one stepped forwards.

Sollux clutched at his lover's body, and pulled him closer still, "THOMEONE, PLEATHE HELP UTH! I NEED HIM, I CAN'T LOTHE HIM! NOT LIKE THITH, PLEATHE!"

But once again, there was no response, and the barely-there whispers suddenly seemed so deafening against the surrounding silence.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Sollux shrieked, and he forced himself to lay Eridan down on the ground. He clenched his own hands together, and thumped them against the hipster's chest; he was desperate enough that he even tried to pray for Eridan to just wake up.

He counted the thumps in his head, and then pinched Eridan's nose, before sealing their lips and breathing out as deeply as he could. It _had_ to work.

"Don't leave me, ED, pleathe don't leave me. I love you tho fucking much, I can't lothe you, please don't leave me alone. Pleathe, pleathe, pleathe…" His words spilled from his lips without any shame or regret, and he tried again, and again, to wake his boyfriend up.

As time ticked on, Sollux knew that it was useless, and with a heavy heart, he stopped trying to resuscitate the man he loved; instead, he pulled the Aquarius close once again, and held him gently. This time Sollux noticed that there wasn't even a _trace_ of any cloudy breath appearing from Eridan's parted lips, and his skin was somehow colder than the icy air around them. He kept his cheek pressed against Eridan's, and refused to acknowledge the lack of the usual scent of coconut.

He had given up. Sollux simply kept his arms around Eridan, _his_ Eridan, and rocked them both back and forth. He didn't care about the feeling of splinters in his own chest, or how he would never be able to be able to wash the blood from himself. He didn't care about the way his tears fell heavily, or the way his voice cracked as he begged shamelessly for Eridan to wake up. _Please wake up_.

_Please_.

_Please_.

-.-.-

Sollux woke up with his chest heaving. He was lying with his face against his pillow, and could barely breathe.

The dream was still fresh in his mind, and through his fear-addled thoughts, Sollux could barely make sense of what was real and what wasn't. The only thing he could think that that this was it, this must be how Eridan was going to die; afterall, this wasn't the first time he had had a dream about something bad happening to him, the only difference was that this time, Sollux wouldn't be there to warn him.

"No, no, no, no." Sollux whispered, his eyes were wide with panic, and he groped at the bedside table to locate his phone. The second he found it, he began frantically tapping at the screen, and then held it against his head.

He stayed completely silent as he listened to the ringing tone, and a tiny noise filled with worry escaped him as it went to answerphone. Out of a pure need to hear that Eridan was alive, he kept trying.

It was on the fifth attempt that the phone finally clicked, and Eridan's voice mumbled, "wwhat do you wwant, Sol? It's four in the fuckin' mornin'."

"Eridan!" Sollux couldn't even stop himself, he held the phone against his ear, and sobbed loudly, "don't… Pleathe… Your car… Don't…"

"Sol, what the fuck is goin' on? What's happened?" Eridan's voice was full of concern, and he sounded much more attentive now, "listen to me, take a deep breath, an think about what you want to say. Then try an make some sense, okay? Now, what's goin' on with my car?"

"Pleathe," Sollux wiped his arm across his wet face, and took a shuddering breath as instructed, "don't get into your car, pleathe, I don't want you to die, pleathe!" He clenched his eyes shut, and gripped the phone until his knuckles turned white.

There was a moment of quiet murmuring before Eridan spoke again, "I'm fine, I'm not in my car… Look, what's happened? Was it another one a your dreams?"

It took more effort that Sollux would have imagined, but he finally managed to choke out a quiet, "yeth!"

"Where's Karkat? Why isn't he lookin' after you?" Once again, there was a muffled conversation, and it sounded as though Eridan had covered the mouthpiece of the phone.

Sollux brought his knees up to his chest and tried to calm his breathing, "he'th at work, ED, I'm thorry, I jutht needed to make sure that you wath… I…" He hiccupped as his breathing hit a speed that matched his rapidly pounding heart.

Eridan's voice was stern, "Sol, I need you to calm the fuck down. Breathe normally. Now, I want to know from the beginnin' what happened in that dream, okay? I'm goin' to stay an talk, an you're goin' to be absolutely fine by the time Kar gets home. I give you my word." Something else was said behind the covered mouthpiece, before Eridan spoke again, "tell me what happened, from the beginnin'."

Though it hurt to think about, Sollux began recalling all of the events of his dream. He explained how he had spoken to Eridan, and Aradia, and also how Mituna had flipped personalities throughout their brief conversation. Sollux tried not to focus on it, but there was a really weird thudding noise in the background, and whenever Eridan spoke, it was just "I see… Yeah… Go on…" Which was strange, because he also sounded a little out of breath.

Sollux froze as he neared the point where he would have to explain the final event of the dream, "tho the dream wath really fucking cold, and I wath walking through town becauthe I didn't want to end up inthide that fucking car like usual, but… I mean, I thtill had to _thee_ the car."

Eridan made a little "mhm" noise to show that he was listening, or at least, _pretending_ to listen.

"And I had to fight my way towardth it, becauthe it wath the wrong colour, ED. It wath the wrong fucking _colour_ , and I knew that meant thomething bad. Tho I got clother, and I thlipped over and my handth got all cut up, but I didn't give up, I jutht kept going, and I finally got clothe enough to open the door, and…" The image flashed through his mind; Eridan was sat limply in his seat, red covering over his face and clothing.

He just couldn't shake the sight of Eridan with blood over his face, over his lips, his perfect lips, _oh God_ …

Sollux's throat whined as he tried to take a deeper breath, and he couldn't do it, he couldn't tell Eridan what he had seen. Just as he was nearing a despondent state of pure anxiety and worry, he heard the front door open and close.

Karkat had finally come home.

Sollux lifted his head from his knees, and half-shouted, half-sobbed, "KK, help!" Then watched his bedroom door as he heard the footsteps thundering up the stairs. He leapt from the bed, and flung himself forwards to embrace the man who opened the door.

"Shhh, Sol, I'm here now." Eridan whispered, stroking Sollux's hair gently, "sorry I took so long to get here, I haven't really had much energy recently." He wrapped his arms around the hysterical man, and led him to the bed. Eridan dropped the bundle of keys onto the bedside table and kicked off his shoes as he climbed into bed, then pulled the covers over their legs, "now, tell me what's gotten you so riled? What was in the car?" He could already imagine what the answer would be, but he didn't want to make assumptions.

Sollux was in shock; he studied Eridan's face for any sign of blood, and he stared into the bright blue eyes that looked so incredibly alive. With hesitation lacing his movements, he pulled Eridan close, and hugged him tightly; the faint scent of coconut made his breathing slow considerably, and he breathed in deeply.

Finally, and with a husky voice, Sollux whispered, "you."

Eridan nodded, "I thought as much. Look, I hate to break it to you, but I happen to be a fantastic driver, an I'm not goin' to be crashin' anytime soon, so wipe that thought from your head, alright?" He squeezed the Gemini, then pulled back a little to look Sollux in the eye, "I'm not goin' to crash. It was just a dream."

Sollux searched Eridan's eyes, and tried to find any trace of lies, but found none, "but before you got into that fight, I dreamt it would happen, ED. What if this cometh true too?" His eyes widened considerably, and he honestly looked absolutely terrified, "I can't… If you… Pleathe…" He covered his mouth as his face crumbled into an anguished expression. His mind began whirring, and invented a multitude of horrific events which he was forced to watch through his mind's eye.

"I'm not goin' anywhere." Eridan whispered, and he pulled Sollux close to try and calm him down. They shifted together to lie down against the pillows, and Eridan had to flip one, because it had a wet patch.

Pulling him close like that was almost like giving Sollux a green light, and he moved his legs so that they were between Eridan's. After a moment, he made himself more comfortable by hunching down a little, and holding his ear against Eridan's chest.

"I never told you about my mum, did I?" Sollux asked quietly.

Eridan shook his head, "no, but I never expected you to tell me, so don't worry about it."

"She died in a car crash."

"Fuck, Sol, I'm so sorry." Eridan tried to pull away to look Sollux in the eye, but the Gemini was holding him too tightly.

Sollux kept his face pressed against the hipster's chest, "Me and Tuna were in the back of the car, and a truck drove right into uth, and… Fuck!" He dragged his nails down Eridan's back in an attempt to pull the other man closer, "Tuna got fucked up in the crash, and Mum died, and I fucking thaw it all happen, ED!"

It was obvious that Sollux was close to becoming hysterical again, and Eridan quickly began trying to calm him, despite the fact that he felt as though his blood had frozen in his veins, "it's okay, Sol, everythin' will be okay. I promise."

"No it won't! Don't promithe me that!" Sollux shouted, "do you know what it'th like to thee thomeone you love jutht lying there, covered in blood? I have to thee it whenever I fall athleep, and it thcareth me!" His words were punctuated with tiny sobs, and his voice cracked, "latht time I had a dream like thith it came true, and you ended up in hothpital! Now I'm dreaming that you're going to die in a car crash jutht like my mum, and I can't do it anymore, ED. I don't want anyone elthe to die. I jutht… I can't do it, I can't have you haunting my dreamth like she doeth."

Eridan tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it wouldn't move. His mouth opened, but no words came out. There was literally nothing that he could say, or do, that could possibly make Sollux feel any better, and the only thing that his body seemed to be capable of was repeating the stupid motion of stroking his hair.

"Pleathe don't die, Eridan!" Sollux suddenly pleaded, "pleathe! You can leave me, you can hate me, jutht pleathe don't die…" His voice trailed off, and simply turned into pathetic sobbing.

"I won't. I swear, I won't." Eridan breathed out quietly, barely daring to raise his voice above a whisper.

As Eridan held him tightly, Sollux shuddered and sobbed; neither of them caring much about the fact that Eridan's shirt was quickly becoming a damp mess. Sollux's noises soon quietened to soft snuffling, and he mumbled, "I'm thorry, ED."

"What the hell are you sorry for? You can't control the shit your mind does, it's fine." Without realising, Eridan pressed his lips to the top of Sollux's head, "it's fine."

"No, I mean, well yeah I'm thorry about thith too, but I mean I'm thorry about the shit I put you through." Sollux tried not to think too much, and instead listened to the steady thumping of the heart of the man he adored, "I'm thorry, I'm thorry, I'm tho thorry. I'm tho fucking thorry, ED. Fuck, I'm thorry." He repeated himself over and over again, as if it was some kind of mantra.

Eridan merely nodded, and replied, "I know."

Sollux wiped his nose with the back of his hand, and tried to focus on Eridan's heartbeat. Eridan was alive, and he was with him, and they were together, and everything was okay. He closed his eyes, and tried to convince himself that it was just like old times, their argument had never happened, they still adored one another, and this was just like any other night.

Pretending was nice. Eridan's heartbeat was nice. Being held like this was nice.

They stayed together, wrapped in each other's arms. It wasn't until Sollux's frequent sniffs had become slow, soft breathing that Eridan realised that the Gemini had fallen asleep. He tried to move, but it was impossible; the nerd had a surprisingly strong grip, but then again, it wasn't as if Eridan would have had the energy to pull away from a weaker hold. He was just too tired.

After what felt like an hour or so, Eridan heard the front door open and close quietly. He lifted his head from the pillow, and listened to the soft footsteps creeping upstairs and along the hallway; Sollux's door opened a little and Karkat's head appeared, "what the fuck? _Eridan_?" He greeted in a very questioning tone, "I don't mean to sound rude, but what the hell are you doing here?"

Eridan lifted a hand away from Sollux's back, and motioned for Karkat to come closer, "Sol phoned me up because he had a dream that I was dead, an he was fuckin' out a his mind with worry."

With a slight frown, Karkat made his way into the dark room, and sat down behind Sollux, "right, but why are you _here_? Couldn't you have just talked with him on the phone?" He shrugged, and reached down to pull his shoes off, "not that I'm complaining, or anything, it's nice to see you after the last time we saw eachother."

"Kar, you should a heard him, he honestly thought that he could see the future an that I was goin' to get myself killed in a car accident." Eridan shook his head before resting it back on the pillow, "besides, when we were together I promised him that I'd always be there for him if he ever needed anyone, an I meant it. Even if I'm fuckin' furious with him, I still… he still means a lot to me, an no one deserves to be alone. Especially not when they really need someone to comfort them." His expression softened, and he had to refrain from pressing a kiss to Sollux's forehead.

This made a small smile appear on Karkat's face, and he nodded, "right. Well, I'm here now, so we can talk while you watch over him, if you want."

"I think I'd appreciate the company to be honest, because I'm probably not goin' to be able to get much sleep tonight." Eridan was unable to turn around as Karkat walked around the bed to sit on his other side, "anyway, how was work?"

To his credit, Karkat stayed awake for about an hour, telling Eridan all about the idiots he had encountered that night, and he didn't seem to mind that Eridan was too tired to respond to half of the anecdotes and stories. Unfortunately, he drifted off while he was 'thinking of something else that happened'.

Eridan was well and truly stuck. He had Sollux clinging to him on one side, still snoring gently, and he had Karkat on the other, huddled up to his back, snoring a little louder, while probably trying to steal his warmth or something.

"Well," he muttered to no one, "this is the most pissed off I've ever been while bein' in bed with two guys."

-.-.-

When Sollux woke up it was as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He groaned softly, and butted his forehead against Eridan's chest affectionately, relishing in the feeling of having the man's arms around him. It was only after his mind finally lifted itself out of the sleepy mugginess that he remembered that their recent split wasn't actually part of the horrific nightmare, and had indeed happened.

Eridan shifted a little, and ran a hand down Sollux's back gently, "mornin'. How are you feelin' now?" He asked softly.

"I think I'm okay now." Sollux mumbled, trying to hold onto the moment for as long as possible, "thankth for… Everything, ED." He would have said more, but he nearly jumped out of bed with shock as Karkat suddenly sat up on the other side of Eridan, and stretched lazily.

"Morning shit-lords. Oh, sorry for falling asleep, Eridan." Karkat clicked his tongue, and noticed that Sollux was watching him with a completely surprised expression, "before you start asking questions, I feel as though I need to remind you that your vehicle is parked in the highly sought after 'I don't give a fuck zone', and I like the thought of your tiny brain being confused as hell." He rolled out of bed, and began stretching again, yawning loudly as he did so, "anyone want breakfast?"

Sollux glanced up from Eridan's chest to look at the hipster, and spoke hesitantly, "want me to forthe KK make uth pancaketh? They're total shit, but we can laugh at the fact that he'll have to clean up all the meth afterwardth… And he getth completely pithed off while he'th cooking them, it'th hilariouth." He dared to hope a little, but found himself feeling incredibly disappointed as Eridan shook his head.

"Sorry, I have to leave. I left Fef on her own at my place, an she can't be trusted to cook without supervision." It sounded as if Eridan had tried to make a joke, but the humour was lost in his exhaustion. He moved a little, and pulled away from Sollux to sit up. Once he has put his shoes on, he grabbed his keys, and stuffed them into his tight pockets, "sorry for dashin' off like this, but I really have a fuck-tonne a work to be getting' on with, an I can't lose so many hours…" He trailed off as if this somehow made sense, and then reached across to Sollux. At the last second, he seemed to change his mind; it appeared as though he was about to cup the Gemini's cheek, but his hand froze, and instead patted his shoulder, "you'll be okay, Sol."

Before Karkat or Sollux could say anything, Eridan gave them both a brief smile, and left. His footsteps thudded down the hall, and the front door slammed.

"Fuck," Karkat mumbled, almost to himself, "someone needs to tell that dickshit that he needs to get some sleep. The bags under his eyes were nearly as bad as mine!" He shook his head, and strolled over to the door, "the offer for breakfast is still open, dude."

Sollux stared at the doorway in silence; Eridan had seemed so… unlike himself. There had been no burning passion, or flickering energy behind his eyes. Instead, there had only been a grim weariness that must have come with the lack of sleep.

But what work could have possibly been so important? Why the hell wasn't the hipster sleeping?

-.-.-

Eridan stepped through his front door, and made a bee-line straight for the kettle. Another sleepless night to add to the list. He flipped the switch to turn the kettle on, and prepared a mug of coffee.

Before he could bring it to his lips, a voice shouted from upstairs.

"Erifin? Is that you?"

Eridan lowered the mug, "yeah, it's me." He called back, running a hand through his hair as he tried to fight an oncoming headache. He wondered whether or not he should take some asprin to kill the pain, but he decided that he'd make that decision after his coffee.

"I'm just about to dry my hair," Feferi continued, "how was Sollux? Did you two have a good glub?" Eridan thought that he heard a little bit of a giggle coming from Feferi's direction, "it's a good thing that you finally started charging your phone again, or he wouldn't have been able to get hold of you again!"

This time Eridan managed to take a sip before speaking again, "he's alright, I guess. I mean, I helped him through a panic attack, but…" He hesitated, but knew that there was no use in lying to his step-sister, "I think me an him are goin' to have to talk about things after I've actually slept, an when I'm not up to my eyes with work, you know?"

Feferi's voice sounded a little exasperated, "you didn't sleep _again_? Erifin, you have to start sleeping! And you had betta not be drinking coffee right now, mister!" She had no idea that Eridan had an expression that made him like a child being caught with his hand in the biscuit tin, "and that's another thing, you need to eat somefin! I haven't seen you eat in days!"

"Fef! I'll eat when I'm hungry… I just, I haven't had much of an appetite recently." His voice trailed off a little, and he had no idea that he was no longer shouting, "I'll eat when I have some time… an…"

Eridan blanched a little, and the world suddenly went tunnel-visioned. He tried to take a step forwards, but his whole body felt as though it was made of lead; he was vaguely aware of the fact that his hands felt… Cold. Suddenly the mug slipped from his fingers, and smashed against the floor, spilling its boiling contents everywhere.

"Fef..?" Eridan mumbled, the name falling from his lips almost accidentally. His eyes rolled upwards, and he thought he heard someone calling his name before he fell to his knees, and everything went black.


	49. Paint and Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, has it really been over a month since the last update? My god, I well and truly fell off that ball, didn't I?  
> So, as anyone who knows me will vouch, October has been one of the roughest months for me. True, I've travelled to see a friend at uni, but I've also had a lot of shit come into my life that has kind of fucked me over in many ways. But that's no excuse, and I'm sorry.  
> If I had truly had my way with the weekly updates, Because of Books might have even finished by now! But I've had to resort to once a month because I don't usually feel like writing after a fifteen-hour shift. I'm a bag of dicks, I know.  
> Anyway, once again, and as always, I would like to thank every single person who reads, and returns 3 you're all fantastic. And I'd like to give an extra big shout-out to everyone that leaves a review or comment, because that shit makes me feel special as hell, so thank you 3  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thank you again.

Sollux was tired. It wasn't as if he wasn't getting enough rest, hell, he'd been in bed pretty much constantly for the past week, but still, he felt an aching exhaustion gnawing away at his insides. He wanted to pull the cover over his head and disappear, but somehow he lacked the motivation to do so.

It was almost as if the bottom of his mind was full of thick tar, and he was trying his best to wade through the viscous sludge to find some semblance of motivation or interest, but his feet were stuck, and he was just too damn tired to fight it.

There was an uncomfortable weight deep in his chest, and Sollux wished that he could somehow fill it, but everything he loved that would usually fill the void held no attraction, and he simply had no energy to even try. Afterall, he knew that he would just be disappointed, no matter what he attempted.

The thought of leaving the safety and comfort of his room, or even his bed, made Sollux's guts twist into knots, and he could feel the sickening anxiety coiling around his torso, ready to turn into a full-blown panic attack at any moment.

Sollux desperately wanted to get off his bed, throw open the curtains, and do a backwards somersault into the day, but he couldn't even muster the energy to sit up. So he simply stayed where he was, feeling the seconds dragging on as minutes seemed to become a lifetime.

Somehow the worst part of all of this was the nothingness; it settled in his mind like heavy snow, and it erased every trace of emotion that he had in his head. Sollux was helpless against the soft white that hid everything from his reach; a small part of him wished that he could remove both the tar and snow, but at the same time, his loss of motivation made it easier for him to simply accept the lack of anything, and so he did.

Sollux didn't know exactly how long he'd been in bed for, it wasn't as if he had any need to get up, so time melded into one fluid moment. The days and nights were almost indistinguishable, as Sollux's thick curtains had been closed, leaving the room in darkness.

Of course Karkat had been bringing him food twice every day, but Sollux saw no need to eat; his want for it had dissipated, and everything tasted like dust anyway. Sometimes he managed to force something down, but this was only when the churning in his gut had become too much to bear, and made him feel nauseous.

"Sollux."

Sollux blinked slowly, he hadn't even realised that his door had been opened. He registered that the voice belonged to Karkat, but didn't react.

"Do you think you're going to manage to get up today?"

The only thing that Sollux could think was that there was no foreseeable way that he would be getting out of bed, though he didn't verbalise this thought. He tried to ignore his friend in the hopes that he'd go away, but it didn't work.

"Don't do that, Sollux. I asked you a fucking question, and I'd like to think that your spongey, barely-used brain is somehow adept at cultivating some kind of response." Karkat's voice sounded tired, though it held only traces of its usual anger, "come on, try harder. Comb your shit-factory mind for an answer, you can do it. I know you're not asleep, dude. Come on."

Once again, Sollux didn't respond; it wasn't because of a lack of trying, he just didn't have the energy. Besides, he knew that since Karkat hadn't left after being ignored, he would very likely just invite himself in, anyway.

Only a few seconds later, Karkat stepped into the room, and Sollux felt the shorter man sit behind him on the bed. There was a moment where the heavy silence hung around them, "you alright?" The question almost seemed rhetorical, given the circumstances, and yet it was still full of concern.

The hand on his shoulder wasn't uncomfortable, but Sollux wished that he could just shrug it off; his lack of giving even the slightest shit prevented him from doing so, and he instead allowed his friend to try and comfort him.

"Dude, I know you don't want to hear this, but you smell like a wet bag of old people's underwear."

This actually made one corner of Sollux's mouth tilt upwards for a millisecond. He couldn't lie, he had missed having little spats with the furious man.

Karkat leant closer, and bumped his forehead against the back of Sollux's head, "hey, come on. You need to drag your ass out of this bed and get in the shower, it'll do you good, and you'll probably feel a bit better if you do," he straightened up again, and absent-mindedly ruffled Sollux's hair, "well, I can't promise you will, but still, it's worth a try, isn't it?"

"Fuck off, KK." Sollux's voice was dry and raspy from not being used, and his words lacked any real conviction.

"You can't make me, so no." There was a short pause, before Karkat spoke again, "but here's the deal, if you can drag your own ass out of bed, and wash your filthy body, maybe I'll be nice enough not to come in with a bucket of freezing water to dump over you. How does that sound?" It was clear from his voice that Karkat had a cruel grin on his face, "I know you're feeling shitty, and I've really tried to stand back to let you have your own time and space to get over this shit, but as your self-appointed best fucking friend, I have to come in and tell you when it's time to get your shit together. I know you suffer with this, and I know that you can't control it, but I can't let you waste away like this. Now, get your ass out of bed before I drag you out."

There wasn't a single moment that Sollux didn't believe that Karkat wouldn't hesitate to do so, but he didn't feel ready to do anything yet. After a long pause, he rolled over to face Karkat, and looked up at him with bleary eyes, "I don't want a shower." He mumbled, hating the way that his voice sounded so self-pitying.

Karkat nodded, "I know you don't, but I'm not going to sit around and enable you, bro. You've had your time to wallow, and to be honest, I need to step in now, for your own good." He shrugged, and tilted his head to better study Sollux's features, "have you been sleeping much? Do you feel any better at all?"

Whether or not he was feeling any better hadn't really crossed Sollux's groggy mind; he had only really focused on the overbearing numbness, and to be honest, he wasn't sure whether that was any better than the pain. "Don't know." He mumbled, wishing that he could pull the quilt over his head again.

"Want to talk about it?" There it was; that damn lilt of pity, hiding inside the concern.

Sollux considered the offer; he would have much preferred to have listened to Karkat speak, but even that seemed to require more effort than he was willing to put into anything right now, but then again, he had an itch inside his brain that made him want to vent to someone, "shit'th getting on top of me." He admitted, "I feel like I'm not even living or thomething, and I'm jutht tho tired, I want to thleep for a hundred yearth." His eyelids slid shut as if on cue, and he pressed his nose against the pillow.

Karkat once again rested his hand on Sollux's head, "well, you _are_ alive, and you can't sleep for a hundred years, so I'm afraid you'll have to deal with this shit head-on." He used his thumb to open Sollux's blue eye, "look, I know that this kind of feeling is overwhelming, and you don't think you can beat it, and I'll be honest, I'm not here to tell you that everything's all rainbows and marshmallows, and that you'll never feel this way again, because guess what? You feeling this crappy _will_ happen again, but you've got to remember that you've beaten this shit before, and no matter how bad it seems, it's all temporary, but you have to pick yourself up and help yourself."

The words gave Sollux a little comfort, and he looked up at Karkat to fully appreciate the lack of sympathy on his face; it was nice to have Karkat not looking sorry for him, and instead wearing a more stern expression.

"I'll always be here to fight the good fight with you, but Sollux, you have to take the first step yourself, because I can't force you." Karkat stood up, and smirked slightly, "but I wasn't lying about throwing a bucket of water at you." While the threat was still fresh, Karkat turned and walked out of the room to give Sollux a little more time to try and get up.

Thoughts began surfacing in Sollux's head, and he rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling. He took a deep breath, and held it for a few seconds, then Sollux finally sat up.

It took him a little while, but eventually Sollux forced himself to stand, and go to the bathroom; he stripped off, and stood under the water while it warmed up. It was about five minutes before Sollux could force himself to start washing his hair, and he could barely notice the smell of the shampoo and conditioner that he had started buying so long ago.

Sollux had to keep stopping, just to rest his forehead against the cool tile of the wall as the feelings of being overwhelmed piled on top of him. Every time it happened, Sollux took deep breaths, and tried to focus on the fact that the feeling would pass after a little while, which it did. Once he had washed his body, Sollux stood still and stared at the shower-curtain, only bothering to close his eyes once the water had begun streaming over his face.

It didn't feel like a very long time, but when Sollux stepped out of the shower, his fingers were wrinkled, and the whole room was full of steam. He wrapped a towel around himself to return to his room; he wouldn't admit it, but he actually felt marginally better, though this feeling was quelled somewhat by the voice at the back of his head telling him that he was pathetic for feeling proud for doing something he should have done anyway.

When Sollux returned to his room, he noticed that his bedcovers had been changed, and he made a mental note to thank Karkat later. Not bothering to put on a pair of boxers first, Sollux climbed into bed, and settled back down; even though he was feeling a little less lethargic, he still wanted to go back to sleep again.

There was a gentle knock at the door, and Sollux lifted his head, "come in." He offered, thinking it was Karkat.

Feferi's head poked round the door, and she smiled softly, "How are you eeling today?" She asked, her voice chipper and somewhat careful.

Sollux blinked groggily, "oh, hey." He mumbled as he put his sunglasses on. This made the already dim room so much less visible, but at the same time, it allowed him to feel a little more comfortable.

The curvy girl smiled a little wider at the greeting, and let herself into the room, closely followed by Karkat, "I wanted to take you somewhere today, and to be honest, I'm probably not going to take 'no' for an answer." She had a determined look in her eyes, but it was somehow shrouded in something that resembled pity.

This made Sollux feel a little uncomfortable; he had only _just_ been able to force himself to get into the shower, and now someone expected him to go outside? It all seemed a little too much, and he felt the familiar feeling of anxiety gripping his chest, "FF, I don't know. I'm not really in the mood to go gallivanting around thomewhere, okay? It'th not like I'm the betht kind of company right now." He ran a hand through his wet hair, and shifted his pillow a little before leaning back against it.

"Shoallux," Feferi's voice was soft as she sat down beside him on the bed, "Eridan wouldn't want you to be like this, please, come out with me, I have the perfect plaice in mind, and I'm shore it'll make you feel betta."

This annoyed Sollux more than he'd care to admit, and he struggled to keep his voice completely calm, "don't, FF, jutht don't. ED ithn't the only reathon that I'm like thith, okay? I'm fucking deprethed, and thith jutht happenth thometimeth," he knew that Feferi must have thought that Eridan was the catalyst for this downwards spiral of self-deprecation, and depression, but that wasn't completely true, "yeah, alright, thith whole thing hath thet me off a bit, but thith happenth all the time. It happened before I wath with Eridan, and it'll happen for the retht of my life. The only differenthe ith that now I'm back to thquare one again."

Neither Feferi nor Karkat spoke; they both allowed Sollux to say his piece, and refused to interrupt.

"Thith shit happened when I wath _with_ Eridan, and thometimeth we'd jutht thtay in bed all day, doing abtholutely nothing, and thleep." The painfully bittersweet memories welled up from the place they had been locked away in Sollux's mind. He sighed and turned away as he saw that disgusting pity-filled look flood all of Feferi's features; it was the same look that everyone had whenever he tried to discuss any of the bullshit inside his head, and he had grown to despise it, "none of thith ith becauthe of Eridan, the only differenthe ith that now there'th no one lying nextht to me, and now I don't have anyone to try and thcrape up thome motivation for."

It was true. He had often felt like his whole body was being swallowed by the overwhelming feeling of nothingness, or being crushed by such a forceful self-hate, which would grow exponentially, sometimes without any reason. When those times hit, he would shut down and try to lock himself away, because if he loathed himself this much then surely the rest of the world despised him too. But sometimes, even though he was often too afraid to take that first step out of the apartment, he would try. Even though he felt as if the moment he stepped outside, he'd be subjected to scorn, he would try; before he was with Eridan, he would do it for himself, but it was so much easier to find some kind of inkling of strength when he was doing it for the person he loved.

There were times when these attempts would prove fruitful, and he would manage to go outside, or he'd be able to face the world, but other times he would just keep the door closed, and apologise to Eridan for not being able to do it.

But that was the thing that made Sollux feel worthwhile; when he succeeded, Eridan was so god damn happy and excited, some of the shit going on in his life receded back into the dark alcoves of his brain. Then again, when he failed, Eridan seemed to at least try to understand; he'd cancel their plans, and come right over to make sure that Sollux was okay. Sometimes Eridan was a little overbearing when they stayed in bed, and he would cuddle up to Sollux and remind him of a thousand and one things that made Sollux worthwhile, and to be fair, sometimes this worked, but other times it made the Gemini feel a little suffocated and he secretly despised the hipster doing so. But there were also times when Eridan would just sit beside him, and wait for Sollux to roll over, and _then_ he would whisper sweet compliments and love-filled words to him, or even simply hold him in silence.

All this dwelling was making Sollux feel worse, but he tried not to glare at the usually-cheerful young woman watching him.

Feferi was quiet, and allowed Sollux time to mull things over. Then she rested her hand on Sollux's, "I know that you can't always see it, but other people love you, you know. And you have lots of people in your life that would be happy to have a glub with you when things get tough." She looked at him with her dark eyes, "please come with me today, it might make you feel better. Plus, I'd kind of like to not have to go alone. _Please?_ "

It may have been because of the pleading lilt of her voice, or the way she stuck her bottom lip out like a lost child, or even the way that she was giving him the worst case of puppy-dog eyes he had ever experienced in his life, but whatever the reason, Sollux finally groaned loudly and grit his teeth.

"Fine. If it'll shut you up, and get you to leave me alone, I'll come."

-.-.-

After Sollux had shooed Feferi and Karkat out of his room, he got out of bed, and trudged over to his wardrobe and began dragging clothes out, barely caring where they landed. He wasn't really looking for anything in particular, and truth be told, when he was in this mood he'd usually just throw anything on, but for whatever reason, Sollux felt the need to drag things out to decide what to wear. After he had pulled about half of the wardrobes contents onto the floor, Sollux finally picked out a Portal shirt; he pulled it over his head, and quickly put on a pair of boxers, a pair of jeans and some socks. As he was slipping his feet into a pair of tattered trainers, he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

There was something about that shirt that made him feel… Sad? Nostalgic?

It didn't make sense, but as Sollux stared at his reflection, the realisation hit him like a brick to the face. It was the shirt he had worn on his first real date with Eridan. Sollux swallowed as he felt his throat tighten.

It had been an enjoyable day; he had playfully bullied Eridan, and they had watched some awful movies with Karkat and Gamzee, then they had all sat down to a takeaway together.

Sollux huffed around the pressure in his chest, and closed his eyes. He couldn't let it get to him, it was just a shirt. It was just a fucking shirt. With heavy feet, Sollux forced himself to walk to the bathroom, and brush his teeth before finding Karkat and Feferi in the living room.

"Ready to go?" Feferi asked, her voice sweet and cheerful, as usual.

"Yeah, let'th get thith shit over with." Sollux muttered in response, grabbing his hoodie off the back of the sofa, before slipping it on.

Karkat looked between them, and stood up, "right, let's get this show on the road then. There's no time like the fucking present, and all that." He gave them both a nod, and then led the way to the front door, holding it open for everyone to leave through before he locked it.

They all got into Feferi's car, and it was only after Sollux had sat in the passenger seat that he realised he didn't have a single idea where Feferi was taking him.

-.-.-.-.-

Sollux kept the same grumpy scowl plastered across his face as they walked through the college building; there were countless rooms filled with families and potential students, all clamouring to look at various projects made by the previous year's students.

Each room had different subjects, but they all shared the same kind of set-up; the desks were covered in work to give visitors some kind of idea of what exciting things they could expect to do if they studied there.

It was a little tiring for Sollux to have to keep dodging people as they hurried through. He had barely had enough energy to leave the house, so this was just the worst possible thing for him to have to attempt; there were far too many people for him to find even the smallest ounce of comfort. Also, he couldn't see any places that he could run off to, and hide, if it all became too much.

His anxiety was beginning to flare up, but his lack of giving a single shit was somehow keeping it supressed. For now.

Feferi reached back, and grabbed both Sollux and Karkat's hands to prevent them from being split up, "oh my cod, it's so much busier than I thought it would be! Oh whale, come on, we're nearly there now!" She led them to a staircase, and they all ascended together into a thankfully quieter corridor.

There were three sets of double doors; but two sets opened up into the same room. Feferi had a gigantic smile plastered on her face as she pulled them along, and through one of the sets of doors that led into the oversized room.

Sollux looked around at his new surroundings, it was obviously an art-room, given the various art supplies on the shelves, and the multitude of art projects lining the tables. As they weaved between desks, Karkat and Feferi made an attempt at small talk as they passed each project, which mostly involved saying some kind of quick compliment about the work.

As they approached the back of the room, Sollux noticed a desk that was surrounded by mannequins; it only took him a moment to realise that he had seen their outfits before. Eridan had shown him the photos himself.

At that moment, the sense of clarity washed over Sollux, and chased the heavy fog from his mind. He cursed himself for being so stupid, and he finally realised where he was.

Feferi had brought him to Eridan's college for one of the open days, and he was about to come face-to-face with the work he had wanted to see for months.

"I'm shore Eridan mentioned it would be near the back," Feferi hummed as she turned around to try and get her bearings, she stepped towards the outfits that Eridan had once worn, and gasped, "oh! Over here! Come on, hurry up you two!" She waved them over as she beamed excitedly, but she didn't wait for them as she quickly made her way over to the desk next to what must have been Kanaya's.

While Karkat wasted no time in following the excited girl, Sollux hesitated; it somehow felt wrong to be there without Eridan being the one to show him. But after seeing Karkat's impressed expression, and the way that Feferi had begun beckoning him over again, Sollux relented, and moved around the desk to finally see what Eridan had drawn.

The final pieces were the first things to come into view; grand canvases covered in oil paintings. Sollux instantly recognised the people in the paintings wearing various regal outfits; the image of Kanaya was motherly, and sincere, her jade lips matched her eyes, and also her flowing dress; Feferi beamed out from another, her eyes glistening with a playful light, and her body cloaked in a grand fuchsia ball-gown.

As Sollux joined Feferi and Karkat, the shorter man's expletives seemed so far away; a lump grew in Sollux's throat as he finally saw the front of the third canvas.

Heterochromia eyes met, and Sollux's jaw went slack; the odd eyes were filled with life, and the face was softly painted. The image of Sollux was sat on a cliff, wearing a gorgeously sleek set of golden armour; moonlight glinted off the metal plating and chainmail, and an ochre cape was splayed on the grass behind him.

Sollux reached out breathlessly, and stroked the image of himself, completely unable to find any words to adequately describe how he was feeling.

"Holy fucking shit, have you seen this?" Karkat's breathless voice murmured as he gently turned the pages of one of the sketchbooks; there were many portraits of two girls and a boy wearing flamboyant costumes, and as Karkat progressed through the book, he came upon sketches of himself and Gamzee, "what the hot, flying fuck… These are pretty fucking good."

Karkat's loss of words shocked both Sollux, and Feferi, and they looked at eachother with amused grins. The grin was wiped off Sollux's face as Karkat showed him a double spread page littered with various drawings of Sollux; each one had a different expression, but every single one was beautiful, even the grumpy ones.

"Jethuth, they're… I'm…"

"What the fuck do you all think you're doin' here?"

The trio turned to see a very annoyed-looking Eridan glaring at them with his arms folded.

"Well? Haven't any a you got an answer for me?" He narrowed his eyes, and turned his attention to Feferi, "I'm assumin' this has somethin' to do with you, considerin' our last conversation, Fef."

Feferi shrugged, and grinned cheekily, "I don't have a single clue what you could possibly be talking about, Erifin! I'm a total innocent here." After a second she added, "whale, alright, maybe I kind of brought Karcrab and Shoallux along to see your work, but that's only because you worked so hard on it all, and I thought that they would reely like to see it! And let's be honest, I know that you secretly love having people look at your work too." She mirrored Eridan's pose, and folded her arms across her chest.

"You know what? It's not even worth arguin' this shit with you." Eridan continued to glare at his step-sister crossly. He finally turned to look at Karkat, "good to see you, Kar."

Karkat nodded, "Yeah, you too." He motioned towards the desk, "you've come a long way from drawing pirates in the back of your English book."

"What can I say, I've had a lot a time to hone my skills an refine my art." A small smile graced Eridan's features, and he glanced at Sollux. The smile faltered, and his eyes darted away, "good to see you too, Sollux. Anyway, I only really came here because you sounded like you was goin' to bring people here, Fef, an unfortunately I appear to have arrived too late to prevent anyone from seein' anythin', so I think I'm goin' to head home again. I got too much work to do to be standin' around socialisin'."

As Eridan turned to leave, Sollux's mind went into overdrive; acting completely on impulse, he reached out, and grabbed the sleeve of Eridan's jacket, "ED, can I talk to you in private?"

The hipster turned around, an uncertain expression plastered across his face, "I don't know, I really should be getting' back." He cast a look at Feferi, as if he was asking for her opinion or assistance.

"Pleathe." Sollux tried not to screw his face up with discomfort, as his anxieties chewed at his nerves, "it'll only be one minute, two topth."

Finally, after not receiving the help from his sister, Eridan sighed, and reluctantly nodded, "fine, follow me." He turned on his heel and strode off towards the set of double-doors, not bothering to check whether he was being followed or not.

"Sollux, what the wet, heaping, bag of horse shit are you doing?" Karkat asked, though Sollux had barely even heard, as he had already set off after Eridan.

Sollux kept as close to Eridan as he could, and he was relieved to see Eridan holding the door to a completely deserted room open. Once they were both inside, and the door was shut behind them, it was finally quiet.

"Tho… How are you?" Sollux asked. Truth be told, he hadn't planned this far ahead, he partially had just wanted to get away from the crowds, and partially wanted to try and talk about slightly more serious things, but now that he had the Aquarius in front of him, he suddenly doubted his own confidence.

"Please tell me you didn't ask me in here just to piss around askin' me how I am." Eridan folded his arms, and looked a little haughty, "how the hell do you think I am? Look at these hideous bags under my eyes, Sollux, an tell me I don't look like I've aged a decade or so since you last saw me."

It was true, Eridan _did_ have dark circles under his eyes, but Sollux shook his head, "you look good." He hesitated again, and watched as Eridan perched himself on a desk; his stomach twisted as he saw the forced civility of Eridan's acknowledging nod, it was obvious that Eridan was holding back from telling Sollux that he was full of shit.

For a moment they listened to the muffled, yet excited bustling outside the door, it wasn't exactly an awkward silence, but Sollux still felt the need to shift his weight a few times before speaking, "tho, how'th your Dad?" He asked quietly.

Eridan shrugged, "he's out a hospital, which is good, but he hasn't been able to get back to work. The doctors are sayin' that his heart attack was definitely stress-related, so they want him to just relax for a while." As he spoke, he rubbed a hand over his own face, and Sollux noted just how exhausted Eridan seemed.

"That'th good to hear." The anxiety began creeping through Sollux, and he put his hands behind his back to squeeze his fingers together nervously; there was so much that he wanted to say, but there was no way that Eridan would ever want to hear any of it. So he wracked his brain for something else to say, _anything_ else to say, because he didn't want their first conversation in so long to be wasted, "I… Thought about texthting you a few timeth to check up on you and your Dad." Sollux admitted.

"I'll be honest, Sol, I've been so busy an inundated with calls an messages that I probably wouldn't a gotten round to messagin' you back."

This didn't make any sense to Sollux, but he assumed that Eridan must have been receiving lots of calls asking about Oscar, maybe from concerned family members or business partners.

Eridan wrapped his arms around himself, and suddenly seemed to find the wall interesting, "I'm not goin' to lie, Sol, I really could a used havin' you around these past few weeks. So much bullshit's happened, an I know I got other people an they all tell me 'hey Eridan, we'll be there for you, we promise!' but as soon as I pick up that damn phone to ask them for help, they're suddenly too busy to remember that I might need them," he picked at his sleeve, "promises are like fuckin' horsefeathers. They fake, an they don't mean shit."

Sollux knew it was his own fault, but there was nothing he could do about it, was there? He brought a hand up, meaning to touch Eridan's arm, "ED, I wanted to check up on you, really, but I've been hiding away an having all kindth of panic attackth, and… Other thtuff."

"You've been havin' more panic attacks?" Concern enveloped his blue eyes, "why didn't you call? Why didn't you tell me? I would a taken a break from work an come by to check up on you." There was a strange tinge of hurt anger in his voice, and from Eridan's expression, Sollux could tell that the hipster was more concerned about his health than whatever crap was going on in his own life.

The bittersweet adoration and gratitude sidled up in his guts, right next to the guilt.

It took Sollux a moment to respond, "well, I kind of figured that if I called again, you'd tell me to fuck off or thomething, and to be honetht that would have jutht made everything tho much worthe." That was the truth; Sollux had desperately wanted to call Eridan on many occasion, even just to hear his voice, but the self-deprecation and overwhelming guilt would still his hand every time. He knew that Eridan didn't love him, and would eventually grow tired of his phonecalls, so he had stopped bothering to even think about it.

That was the thing about depression; it made him crave the love, but it snatched away the belief that he would ever receive it, or deserve it. It made the loneliness such agony, but stole away the motivation to even try and get help. It was like a shadow that would drape itself over him, cruelly reminding him of every fear and self-criticism he had ever thought about himself; it was like a leech, draining away all of his energy, making a mountain out of even the simplest task.

Eridan shook his head disbelievingly, "I would have made time for you, I promised I would, remember?"

"You jutht thaid it yourthelf, Eridan, promitheth are bullshit, and-"

"MINE AREN'T!" Eridan bellowed suddenly, as if this was a horrendous attack on his character. He unfolded his arms, and clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes alive with an electrical fury, "don't you _dare_ use my own words against me. Have I _ever_ broken a promise to you before? No. Have I _ever_ given you any reason to think my promises to be something that I would break? No. But did I come runnin' to you the second you called me last, an stay with you until you felt better? You bet your ass I did."

Sollux's eyebrows pulled together as he frowned, "look, you _know_ what it'th like to be in that thtate. And let'th be honetht here, you wath thtill angry and I didn't think you would care."

"Of _course_ I'd fuckin' care!" Eridan yelled, his cheeks turning a little pink from anger, "an there is a _reason_ that I'm angry with you!"

"I know why you're angry at me, okay?" Sollux shouted back, "you don't need to tell me what a piethe of shit I am, I _know_! What I did with Aradia wath wrong, and I fucked up, but I only hung out with her, I thtopped her from kithing me, I thwear I fucking thtopped her!"

Eridan looked a little disgusted at the mere mention of Aradia, and he grimaced before speaking, "that's not the point, yeah that pissed me off, but," he turned to the ceiling, and covered his face with his hands, "you let me down. You was Sollux fuckin' Captor, an you meant the world to me, I wwas wwillin'…" He swallowed, and took a moment to mutter expletives at himself under his breath before continuing, "I was willin' to give up everythin' for you. I would a told Father to shove the business up his ass, I would a turned my back on everythin' an started new, I would a… I wwould a followed you to the bitter end!"

Sollux was trying not to get angry, not at Eridan but rather at himself. He had to make Eridan leave, for the hipster's sake; it didn't matter how much he wanted to reconcile with him, he knew that Eridan was better off without him, and if there was one selfless thing that he was going to do in his life, it was going to be making Eridan leave and live for himself. He had to be cruel to be kind, it was the only way, "then don't think about following me! You've got your whole life ahead of you, you've got a well-paying job, you've got your perfect life, perfect houthe, perfect family! Jutht fuck off!"

The hurt in Eridan's eyes was obvious as he returned his gaze from the ceiling to Sollux, "what the hell are you talkin' about? Perfect family? Holy shit, you do realise you're talkin' to _me_ right?" Eridan looked as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "you want to know why I look like I haven't slept in weeks?" The volume of his voice was creeping back up to shouting levels again, "funnily enough, it's because I haven't slept properly in fuckin' WEEKS!"

Sollux couldn't say anything. He wanted to keep his anger fresh so that he could bark back with equal fervour, but there was something about Eridan at that particular moment that made the Gemini think that maybe Eridan wasn't really snapping at _him_ , but rather just snapping because he hadn't had a chance to do so in so long.

"I know I always act like I've got the weight a the world on my shoulders, but for once, it actually feels like that." Though the volume of his words had begun to lower itself again, the intensity behind them had not dissipated in the slightest, "I've been forced to take on the family business in its entirety while Father recovers." There was something in the way that Eridan was stood that made him seem proud of this, but the exhaustion quelled it somewhat.

"What?" Sollux whispered, more in disbelief than as a question.

"I'm managin' the business, I'm in charge, I'm havin' to go to meetin's an conferences, an that's on top a the accounts, fuck, an I have to try an catch up on the days that Father was out a commission, an…" Eridan sighed, "I'm fuckin' exhausted, an I'm getting' to the point where I'm thinkin' about just walking away from everythin'. My brother is too much of a fuck-up to be given any kind a responsibility, my Father doesn't want to rely on his wife or my step-sisters to run our side a the family affairs, an my own mother walked out on me because she didn't want me anymore." He looked at Sollux with a bitter vehemence, "so please, please tell me how my family life is perfect, Sol. You have no idea about what hours an what work I'm havin' to do behind closed doors, an I am tryin' my hardest every fuckin' day, an God knows I'm losin', but don't you ever tell me for one second that I wouldn't a come runnin' for you if you had called sayin' that you needed someone, because that's a shit-faced lie! No one should deal with that shit alone, no matter what! For fucks sake, I would have dropped conference calls, an sprinted over to yours to see you through it all!"

"Why!?"

"Because I love you!"

The bustling of the people outside of the door was so quiet compared to the fury-soaked shouting that had just filled the room, and yet it seemed so deafening in that moment.

They both stared at eachother. Neither wanting to make the first move.

Eridan opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, then stormed out of the room. Sollux tried to follow, but Feferi and Karkat stopped him at the door.

Feferi looked a little nervous, "Sollux, what happened? We were waiting by the window, and Eridan just ran out looking like he was going to punch someone!" She glanced towards the staircase that her step-brother had just disappeared down, then back to Sollux.

"I have to thpeak to him!" Sollux said, trying to move around them both. Before he could, Karkat grabbed hold of him, "KK, move! Thith ith important!"

"No, dude, you're going to end up saying something you'll regret." Karkat warned, shaking his head.

Sollux grabbed his phone out of his pocket, "fuck off, and fuck you, I'm not going to meth up thith time." He mumbled, hardly even giving a shit as to whether or not he was actually speaking. He frowned when he saw that he already had a text, and opened it, hoping desperately that it was Eridan.

**'solluxander**   
**you are cordually invited to my awesome amazing party on friday omg you have to be there its going to be the best!**   
**btw you totes have to have some kind of kickass costume to get in**   
**rolal out**   
**btw speling cordially as cordually was totes on purpose because you like twos *insert pic of me wearing cool shades lol*'**

Sollux groaned, and quickly clicked on his contacts to ring Eridan, but once again, his call went straight to answer phone.

-.-.-.-.-

Eridan cursed himself for slipping up. He never should have agreed to talk to Sollux alone, he was so stupid it hurt.

The car ride home was filled with the hipster groaning, and calling himself things that would make even the saltiest sailor blush. Thankfully it was only a short drive home, because Eridan was so damn distracted that he knew he'd end up eventually making some kind of mistake.

Before he pulled up to his house, he saw something that made his blood boil a little. He was already in such a foul mood that he sure as fuck didn't need _this_.

Eridan parked his car, and got out, glaring at the person on his doorstep. He slammed the car-door, and began storming to his house with a determined stride, "what are you doin' here? What the fuck do you want?" He demanded.

Aradia watched him with doe-like eyes. She pursed her ruby-red lips, and looked Eridan up and down, "hello to you too, Eridan."


	50. Costumes and Parties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, has it really been this long since my last update? I am so sorry. Here's the scoop for those of you who don't follow me on Tumblr; I have been in a shitty place these past couple of months. Through work, a horrible ex, and the fact that the holidays are never easy for me, I've been an absolute mess.  
> But that's not important anymore, I'm sorry that this has taken so long. Holy shit, 50 chapters? Wow, I cannot thank you all enough for sticking with me this long, and for reading so much. You're all incredible, and I appreciate it more than I can say.  
> Thank you all for the kind words, and the comments. I really hope that this chapter makes up for how bloody long you were all waiting. Once again, I'm sorry and I love you all. Please enjoy!

Eridan placed the steaming mug on the kitchen table, then sat down, "you've got five minutes." He muttered.

Aradia lifted up the mug with a smile, "thank you for inviting me in. Now, seeing as our last encounter was somewhat more civil, I assume that Sollux told you about what happened between us?" She took a sip of tea, then set the cup down again.

"I found out, if that's what you mean." Bitterness laced every syllable, and Eridan tapped his fingers against the table as an annoyed habit. He briefly wondered what had gotten into him; he _should_ have slammed the door in Aradia's face and moped around for a few hours, but instead, he had allowed her to come inside. Mostly because she said that she wanted to discuss Sollux, and to be honest, he was worried that it would be something important.

"I figured as much, but that's not why I'm here." She crossed her arms, "regardless of whether or not you knew about me trying to kiss Sollux, I wanted to come clean about it. I didn't think that it was right for you to possibly be kept in the dark about it. So here I am."

Eridan narrowed his eyes, "you came here to tell me about you tryin' to kiss Sol?"

There was a tiny hesitation that allowed Aradia the chance to sigh, "yes, Eridan." She ran her index finger around the rim of the cup, wiping away the trace of maroon lipstick that her lips had left on it, "here's the deal. I didn't know that he was in a relationship, and though I'm not trying to drop Sollux in any kind of mess with you, if he had told me about you earlier, I wouldn't have even _thought_ of trying anything with him. Anyway, I took our little meetings the wrong way, and I thought that they were more romantic than platonic, and I tried to kiss him." Her words were honest, as was her gaze, and it was currently fixed on him in an unwavering manner, "nothing happened between us, and _my_ actions shouldn't be blamed on Sollux."

"How do you know that I may have blamed Sollux for anything that _you_ did?" Eridan interjected, suppressing the anger with will alone. At that moment he wondered whether or not Sollux had told Aradia about their argument behind his back, "maybe I haven't even taken it to heart, in the slightest. Did you ever think about that?"

Aradia shrugged, "we both know what you're like, and don't try and pretend as though you don't suffer with a dramatic personality, and an angry temperament." She sipped her tea again with a slightly amused expression, "so, did you have a screaming fit or did you settle on the silent treatment?" Her smirk faltered just slightly as Eridan glowered at her.

"Actually, we broke up." He stated.

This made any traces of a smile fall from Aradia's lips, and she shook her head, "but it wasn't his fault! Didn't he apologise?"

"Aradia. Stop." Eridan's voice was a little sterner, he was quickly growing tired of Aradia's rambling.

"I know he can be stubborn, and he never likes to admit he's wrong, but did you give him a chance to say sorry? Or at least to explain himself? This isn't right!"

"Aradia, that's enough!" Eridan shouted. It was hard enough that he had argued these things with himself, but to hear someone else saying them really did hurt.

"No!" Aradia matched Eridan for volume, and she glared at him, seething with impatience, "you didn't hear the way he spoke about you! You didn't see the look in his eyes! For God's sakes, he seemed happier with you than he ever did in the entirety of our relationship, and I don't believe for a moment that it was only because you two were enjoying novelty of a fresh and new relationship. Eridan, nothing happened between us, hasn't he explained that to you?"

Eridan's voice was a little calmer, though he could feel the storm building under his skin, "I could not physically give less of a shit about his side a the story. He lied to me, an he kept it from me. I came home to see him, an Sol fucked me only minutes after he must a seen you, and not _once_ did he stop an try to tell me what had happened." He spat the words like venom, hating the way they seemed to cling to his tongue, "I would a forgiven him, an understood a hell of a lot better if he had just told me there an then what had happened. I would a been pissed, an I would a hated him, yeah, but I would a been able to look past it. But he wasn't honest, an he kept it a secret because he thought he could get away with it, an I can't trust him again." As almost an afterthought, Eridan looked down his nose at the woman in front of him and added, "considerin' what happened to _him_ , I would a thought he'd never pull that crap on someone else."

This comment made Aradia's lips purse in distaste, "ah." She murmured, "I see that Sollux has told you about how, and why, we broke up." She rested her elbows on the table, and leant on her hands, "I did something that I'm not proud of. But at that point, we had drifted apart. Let me tell you something, Eridan," Aradia actually looked a little ashamed, though she did not allow herself to turn away. To her credit she held Eridan's critical gaze, and managed to keep her voice level, "during the course of mine and Sollux's relationship, he told me countless times that he loved me. But, some days he would also wake up, and look at me as if I was a stranger. There were even days when Sollux would admit that he didn't love me anymore, and that his feelings were purely platonic, and you know what? Having someone saying that they're not in love with you anymore hurts a lot, especially when you know that they might feel differently the next day! So I held on, waiting for his brain to stop screwing him over, and after having him fall in and out of love with me so often, I started to feel like he didn't love me at all anymore because there was something wrong with _me_. So yes, when someone else admitted that they were madly in love with me, I clung to that feeling, and held onto it with everything I had. I should have broken it off with Sollux before he got hurt, but I just couldn't, I still adored him and I was waiting for the day when he would love me without changing his mind again! And yes, I was being selfish and greedy, and I _know_ that this isn't an excuse for how I hurt him, but for fucks sake, Eridan, I deserved to have someone _love_ me!" Moisture collected at the corners of her dark eyes, but she did not cry.

There was nothing that Eridan could think to say. He didn't believe that this was an adequate excuse for her behaviour, but at the same time, he could understand it just a little more.

They sat in silence for a long moment, and Eridan was the first to speak, "Sollux never told _me_ that he loved me just as a friend, before." He traced the grain of the wooden table with a finger, "but I guess, even though he thought a you as a friend half the time, at least he didn't cheat on you. He'd been seein' you behind my back, an then the kiss happened… So maybe cheatin' is somethin' he just doesn't do to _friends_."

"He didn't cheat on _you_ , either." Aradia reminded him patiently. She held up her hand as he started to argue again, and she kept her voice calm and collected, "no, really, Eridan. What Sollux did was wrong, he should have told you about hanging out with me, but he stopped the kiss. He put his hand in front of his mouth and stopped me, like this." She mimed the way that Sollux had prevented their lips from meeting, then shrugged, "you and he should talk again, even just to clear the air. I haven't spoken to Sollux since the night I tried to kiss him, but I know that he's probably pretty beaten up about this. Even if you decide to stay separated, it'd probably be beneficial to both of you to come to some kind of understanding with one another, even if it's just leaving the relationship with a more positive outlook."

Eridan actually paid attention to what Aradia was saying, and he nodded; it _did_ make sense to at least try to clear the air with Sollux. He wrapped his hands around his own mug, and tried to gain some kind of comfort from the warmth, "it's been a pretty rocky breakup, Ara. I don't know if it'll be possible to have a civil conversation without it turnin' into a fight." He admitted.

"And how have you been coping with that?" Aradia asked, showing genuine concern for her old friend.

"Badly." There was no real use lying, and Eridan simply shrugged, "it was the start of a shit-sundae to be honest, an I really could a done without it." He stared into the rich brown of the coffee in front of him, and almost found it funny that he was opening up to the woman who had effectively broken him and Sollux up, "Because a work I've been exhaustin' myself to the point that I'm passin' out, an it's getting' harder to sleep, not to mention the fact that I've been dealin' with the fact that Barbossa is… Look, these past couple a weeks have been rough an I really could a used havin' Sollux here for me. I just, I wish I hadn't invested myself into the relationship more than Sollux had, okay? I wish that I had just treated it like a fling, an kept emotions out a the whole thing. It would a saved me a lot of energy." This was pretty much just a recap of the things he had told Feferi, but he really wanted to make sure that Aradia knew just how much he had been fucked over by hers and Sollux's actions.

Aradia nodded, and to her credit, did look sympathetic, "I'm sorry that you've had so much crap go on with your life, really I am, but you're wrong about Sollux not being as invested in the relationship as you." She took a sip of her drink, and smiled wistfully, "he told me all about you after the attempted kiss, you know, and the way he spoke about you was just… He had this look about him, and he was so cute, it was like you were a new computer with all the gadgets he loves, and you had actually shot past the expectations that the manufacturer had given him. It was like you had double the memory space, and an unreleased graphics card that turned out to be better than anything that could be bought or built… I apologise for having to make that kind of analogy, but I honestly think that it was the most suitable way of talking about Sollux's reaction." Her smile turned warmer, and upon hearing her words, Eridan felt something flutter in his chest, "when we spoke, he honestly sounded as if he was completely and utterly besotted with you. I don't doubt for even a moment that this breakup has affected him more than he'd be willing to admit, maybe even to himself."

There was truth in the statement, and Eridan stared with a hopeful expression; he needed to hear that Sollux missed him, and that the nerd was hurting too. It was selfish, but he didn't care.

After a moment, Aradia set down her coffee mug, "in my opinion, you can make a choice right now. Either you take what I said into account, and admit that Sollux was a dick for not telling you about hanging out with me, but admit that the rest the blame for the kiss rests solely on _my_ shoulders, which is where it belongs," she folded her arms, and leant back in her chair, "or you pretend as though this whole conversation never happened, and wallow in the loathing of both yourself and the man that you've admitted you was completely in love with."

The choice seemed easy, but Eridan couldn't deny the pain he had been through, and the pain he still felt. He watched Aradia, hoping that she would give him an answer to her own ultimation.

But instead, she stood up, and pushed her chair back into its place at the table, "Eridan, if you love him, you have to put your injured pride aside and come to terms with it. Trust me, hating him for a kiss that didn't even happen will haunt you, especially if you're still harbouring those kinds of feelings for him." She picked up her shoulder bag, and pulled it on while she spoke, "but if you've managed to move on, and you don't love him anymore, then at least clear the air with him, and allow this all to end on a better note than _this_!"

Aradia rested a hand on Eridan's shoulder, and her voice was sincere as she spoke, "I wish I could turn back time and stop myself from doing what I did, and I wish that I could have prevented this all from happening, but I can't. The past has happened, and it's never going to change, but you're the one with the ability to shape your own future, and while I can't tell you what to do, I feel as though I should at least push you towards trying to do the right thing and just clear the air."

Eridan nodded, ever so slightly, though it was more of a reflex than anything else, "I'll think about it." He said, and honestly meant it.

This seemed to satisfy Aradia, and she flashed him a relieved grin, "thank you, Eridan. And thanks for the coffee." She gave his shoulder the briefest of squeezes before stepping away, "I'll show myself out, and maybe I'll see you at the next larping session?" Without waiting for a response, Aradia turned and left.

The gentle thump of the front door was barely noticed by the bewildered Ampora, and it took him more than a few minutes to mull over what Aradia had said.

To be honest, Eridan was struggling, because there was always the chance that she had been lying about it being her fault, or even about whether or not Sollux had gone through with the kiss. He groaned quietly as he continued to think about it, but eventually decided that he needed to discuss this with someone.

It would have been nice to have the option to call Karkat, as the short man knew Sollux so well and would probably be able to give pretty sound advice, but there was always the possibility that he would give biased advice. Wasn't there?

Eridan grumbled to himself as he stood up; regardless of who he was going to call, he wanted to curl up in bed while he did so, and that meant dragging his ass up to his bedroom. Thoughts still plagued his mind as he trudged along, but he managed to make it all the way upstairs without having to sit down on a step in a morose fashion. He would have considered that some kind of pathetic victory given his recent moods, but the sight of his room actually made his mouth drop open; it was as if someone had finally pulled back the curtains and forced him to see the state of squalor he had been living in.

The bed had been transformed into a nest of quilts; the blankets were bundled into a pile on the mattress, and there were clothes scattered all over the floor and furniture. Eridan hadn't bothered to pick up anything, and it was an absolute mess; as he stared at the state of his room, he finally saw why Feferi had been so reluctant to sleep in there with him after he and Sollux had just broken up. Eridan stepped over a set of spilled pencils, and carefully chose his footsteps as not to tread on the things he had recently trampled over so many times.

It was strange, but Eridan realised that for the first time in so long, he actually felt uncomfortable seeing so much mess. He rolled up his sleeves, and looked around himself.

After pulling a shirt off his bedside table, he scrolled through his contacts, and pressed the call button. He then chose the speakerphone setting, and set the phone down on the bedside table. The ringing only lasted a few seconds before Feferi answered, "Hey Eridan! What's up?"

"Hey Fef, are you still with Kar an…" Eridan shuffled uncertainly, and tried to distract himself with picking up his loose pens and pencils.

Feferi snorted softly, "I've dropped them both home, don't worry. Anyway, water you calling for?"

"Fef, I think I'm goin' to come out with you Friday." Eridan said, picking up a scarf and a shirt, and dumping them into the laundry basket.

"That's fintastic news! Shell yes, let's do this!" Feferi sounded ecstatic, "but what made you change your mind?"

While Eridan explained what he and Aradia had spoken about, he began tidying all the mess and clutter away; it was strangely difficult to do, but he finally picked up all of the shredded pieces of artwork that had littered the floor, and he threw them in the bin. It was therapeutic in a bittersweet way, and Eridan felt as though a weight was being lifted from his chest.

"So do you think you'll talk to Sollux about all of this?" Feferi asked, sounding ever so slightly hopeful at the prospect of a reconciliation between the two stubborn idiots.

Eridan hesitated, "I don't know, Fef, I mean, yeah Ara sounded like she was tellin' the truth when she said Sollux stopped her, but I don't think me an Sollux will ever become friends or anythin' again." He tightly screwed up a few chunks of paper together, and tossed the makeshift ball across the room; he felt a little too proud of himself when it landed in the wastepaper basket, "it's over between us, an I don't think we're goin' to get in a situation when we'll talk again."

Feferi tutted quietly "never say never, Eridan. Aradia was right, you and Sollux really should clear the air with each other. It'd be good for the both of you, and it's not like you have to be fronds afterwards, but it'd be nice to hear that you're both going to end this civilly."

This was just a repetition of the same shit Eridan had already heard, and thought himself, so he just made a _'mhm'_ noise, and bundled up dirty clothes, "either way, Fef, I'm fed up a livin' this way, so I think I'm just ready to get my fuckin' life in order. First thing's first, I need some new suits for work because I need to look the part a the head a the Ampora household, don't I?" He caught sight of himself in his vanity-table mirror. He paused, and brought a hand up to stroke his beloved strip of violet hair, "I need to look the part." He repeated softly, trying to move the dark hair around it to cover all traces of the colour.

"Alright, well, we can get new clothes in town whenever you want, Eridan! But…" Feferi sounded slightly uncertain, "you don't _have_ to try and shoulder everyfin. I know your dad wants you to take on the business and stuff, but you _can_ say no."

"Fef, this is what I have to do."

"Yeah, I get that you're too proud to ask for help, but you're working so hard you're collapsing, and you're still not eating properly," she huffed quietly, "you're not your father, and you're being thrown in at the deep end, it's ocray to be a little overwhelmed and you can always ask people to give you a hand."

Eridan dumped his armful of laundry into the wicker basket, and grimaced, "I'm not lettin' Father down by grovellin' for help. If he can run this shit on his own, then so can I."

There was silence for a little while, and when Feferi spoke again she sounded a both hesitant and tired, "I just don't want you to get hurt, Eridan. I don't want you to be in hospital because you've had a heart attack by the time you're twenty-five." Her voice sounded as though it was straining, "You need to either get one of the higher-ups to help you, or hire someone new. Please, don't let this job kill you."

As Feferi spoke, Eridan had changed the covers on his bed, and had made it as neatly as he could; he felt both guilty and frustrated from his sister's words, but his pride seemed to dominate every other emotion. He felt the weariness crawling over his body and mind, and he climbed onto the bed, "Fef, I'm fine. I'm not goin' to die, I'm just tired is all." He pulled the quilt over himself, and shuffled to pull his jeans off under it, "as soon as I get used to the workload, I won't be exhausted all the time, an I'll be back to my usual self, don't worry so much about me okay?"

"Of course I'm going to worry about you. You're my idiot brother." She sounded as if she was smiling, "but now I'm afraid I'm going to have to demand that you take a nap before you start on any work, mister!"

"Way ahead a you, I'm already in bed." Eridan closed his eyes, and snuggled down against the pillows; the new cotton covers felt cold, and smelled of lilies and ylang-ylang flowers, "I tidied up a little, so you should come round soon."

Whatever Feferi had said next was lost as the muggy sleep overtook Eridan in a wave, and for once, the heavy and dreamless darkness was welcomed.

-.-.-.-

"Roxthy, no." Sollux pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed in an extremely frustrated manner. He had been dragged out to find a costume to wear to the party he had not yet definitely agreed to attend, and right now Roxy was holding up a Where's Wally outfit.

"Roxy, yes!" She grinned, "come on, it'll look hella sweet next to my Wizard Whitebeard I'm planning, and you can hide in the crowd, it'll be fun." She spun the round glasses around and around as she spoke, not seeming to care about the way that the sales assistant was frowning nearby.

Sollux closed his eyes behind his glasses, and just continued to groan, "I want to hide away at thith damn party, and drething up in that outfit theemth a little counter intuitive, don't you think? People are going to be coming up to me all night thaying shit like 'found you!' And then they'll want to make converthation." He glared at Roxy as she slipped the bobble hat onto his head.

"But you look totes adorbz in it," she grinned, and flicked the bobble, "but alright, how about you dress up as Odlaw then? I mean, you like wearing yellow and black together, don't you? And I dunno, maybe you'll find out that you _like_ dressing up. If you don't want to go in a cute duo with me, then maybe you can dress up as someone from Lord of the Rings?"

It was hard to take clothing advice from a woman wearing a white beard that reached her knees, and Sollux folded his arms, "I want to put in ath little effort ath I pothibly can. Theriothly, if I could get away with thimply wearing a hat, I would jutht do that."

Roxy shook her head, not seeming to notice that her floppy blue wizard hat was dangerously close to falling off, "I'm shaking my head at you right now. You're letting the side down, Solluxander. I hope you feel guilty." She picked up the end of her beard, and inspected it with a _hmm_ , "this needs to be longer." She mumbled, before turning her attention back to Sollux, "listen here, Captor, we're finding you a costume and it's going to be funky fresh, and you're going to love it, now come on!"

She disappeared behind one of the clothing racks, and Sollux groaned, "Can we not? I'll jutht wear a nithe shirt or thomething inthtead."

"How about this?"

Somehow Roxy has gotten behind him, and when Sollux turned round, the girl was wearing a blue cap, and was holding a pair of shorts in front of her skirt, "what? I don't…"

"I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!" Roxy said proudly, "see? You can be an NPC, and just say that kind of stuff to people until they walk away."

"No, thee, then I'd look like I have thomething wrong with me, and people would jutht quethtion why the hell I wath at your houthe, pluth loadth of people aren't going to get the referenthe." He pinched the bridge of his nose as Roxy slowly lifted up the Where's Wally outfit again, "God damn it, I'm never going to ethcape without choothing thomething from thith shop, am I?" He grumbled.

"Not a chance in hell, my friend." Roxy cheerfully replied.

Sollux groaned quietly, and made a half-assed attempt at pushing outfits on the rail in front of him this aside to look at them a little more closely.

After huffing and groaning dramatically for a while, Sollux glanced over at Roxy hoping that she would just give up on trying to get him to dress up, but unfortunately, she looked as though she wasn't going to deal with any of his shit.

"Christ, Sollux, I'm not asking you to build a fully-functioning Jaeger, I just want you to wear something to get you in a partying frame of mind." With a sly smile, Roxy lifted up a red tie, and held it out towards Sollux, "besides, you said you'd come to my party, and to do so, you need a hella costume, so let's get you something you won't mind wearing."

Sollux pulled a face, but took the tie, "I have no idea what you're planning, but I know I'm going to hate it." He muttered.

"Oh, I doubt that, now come on, and let's pay for this piece of shit." For good measure, Roxy scoured the shelves as they finally made their way over to the cash register, picking up little plastic bottles of fake blood, "you'll be thanking me for this idea, and you won't even need to put up with the attention you'd get from dressing as Wally. I believe that is what the happening-peeps call a win-win sitch."

It didn't sound much like a _win-win sitch_ to Sollux, but he held his tongue, slightly interested to see what Roxy was planning.

-.-.-.-.-

The party was in full swing. It had started with a few people from class turning up, but each person seemed to bring at least one friend with them so the number of guests was growing exponentially as time ticked on. This hadn't seemed to phase Roxy though, and she seemed to radiate charisma and excitement, which appeared to be contagious as hell.

Sollux shuffled on the couch, and thanked fuck that Karkat had come with him.

When they had first arrived, the party was in a state where the music wasn't loud enough to drown out people's words, and there wasn't enough guests that every room seemed to be occupied. Roxy had seen Sollux arrive, and had jumped off the kitchen counter with a wide grin plastered across her face, "Solluxander!"

Sollux had given a wave, and looked around, hoping that there wouldn't be more people arriving than the amount already there, "Thup. Nithe beard."

Roxy's beard was so long that she had thrown it over her shoulder, and wrapped it around her waist like a belt, and yet it was still able to rest against her ankles, "thanks! I gotta say, these peeps have no idea who I am, because they keep calling me Dumbledore." She tilted her head, and regarded Karkat, "and what are you supposed to be?"

Karkat smirked, "I've come as my own unbridled rage, parked squarely in the not giving a fuck zone, ready to explode with molten hatred and effervescing loathing." He shrugged, "I'm also wearing a shirt to match Sollux's costume." With that, Karkat removed his jacket, and revealed an 'I got wood' shirt.

Roxy laughed loudly, and brought her phone up to snap a picture of Sollux and Karkat, "oh my god, you came as a Shaun and Ed duo! I knew I was onto a good thing when I came up with the Shaun of the Dead costume for you, Sollux!" She grinned proudly, and nudged the Gemini playfully.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sollux grumbled, though he was actually quite pleased with the fact that Roxy had come up with such a simple costume, and she had even helped him splatter one of his white shirts with red. Though he hadn't appreciated the fact that the excited girl had tried to get him to get a haircut, and dye his hair orange. Sollux had drawn the line at that.

Once they had gotten themselves a drink, Sollux and Karkat had settled down in the lounge, and had watched as the party had become a ridiculously busy affair. The house was heaving with people, and it was almost uncomfortably busy, but Sollux stayed with Karkat, which thankfully meant that he didn't have to interact with anyone he didn't know.

Unfortunately, Karkat had left to get them both drinks about ten minutes ago, and Sollux was vaguely aware that the shorter man may have been distracted by something, as he was already a little drunk. Sollux looked around himself, so far he had been able to keep Karkat's place on the sofa free, but a girl had just sat herself down in the spot, and was smiling sweetly at him, "hey! What are you supposed to be? A murderous business-guy, or something?"

Sollux blinked behind his dark glasses, and felt his mouth go dry. He glanced around quickly, to see if Karkat had managed to find his way back, but couldn't locate him in the crowd, so he turned back to the girl wearing a tight dress and bunny ears, "uhh, no, I'm Shaun of the Dead." He replied, moving backwards on the sofa cushion as the girl shuffled closer.

"Never seen it, is it a film or something?" She asked, still smiling cutely.

"Yeah, a pretty good one, too." Sollux was beginning to feel a little anxious, and he could barely string a sentence together that would allow him to avoid lisping, so he nervously stood up, "I have to find my friend, great outfit, by the way." He stood up, and offered the confused looking girl what must have been an incredibly awkward grin, then turned and left her.

There were people everywhere, and Sollux's guts knotted uncomfortably as he weaved in between, and around, groups of friends. He thought that the best plan of action would be to look for Karkat in the kitchen, seeing as that was where he would have been getting drinks from. As he stepped through the doorway, he saw something that made him grin.

There was a small crowd of people, some of whom he recognised, stood at one end of the room, near the fridge. Karkat was stood beside Feferi, who was waving her arms wildly as she told some kind of exciting tale, and the people around her laughed; Sollux was impressed at the obvious effort that had been put into her empress-like costume, as there was intricate embroidery and beading all over the fabric, and she was covered in thin looping gold jewellery.

Just as Sollux finally felt the relief wash over him, and began making his way over to the familiar faces, his heart dropped. A young man hefted himself onto the kitchen counter, obviously fed up with standing; he was dressed in a finely-fitting violet waist-coat over a long-sleeved back button-up shirt, ridiculously tight black trousers, and shiny aubergine shoes. There was a very long, and heavy looking violet cape flowing behind him like a waterfall, its collar rose high enough to reach the young man's ears, and there was a delicate gold crown glimmering from its place on his head; its purple gems complimented the violet slice of hair it rested atop, quite nicely.

Sollux stood and stared, with his teeth biting into the soft flesh of his bottom lip. Eridan looked sublime, and the ridiculous amount of splendid rings that adorned his fingers glittered in the bright light of the kitchen as he moved.

It was the first time he had seen Eridan since the hipster's little outburst in the college room, and Sollux wanted to drag him off the counter and into a room to speak to him, but at that moment, Sollux felt shockingly nervous, and also overwhelmed. He didn't want to stick around and have everyone witness him trying to speak to Eridan, and being told to fuck off; maybe it was better that they just kept to themselves, and didn't speak again, just to save the bullshit of having more arguments, and humiliation.

Sollux felt his chest clench, and he chocked down a breath as the anxiety tried to shut him down. As quickly as he could, he turned, and charged back the way he had come, unfortunately this hurried movement came to a halt as he barged straight into another person.

The guy was wearing a cheap, store-bought Dracula costume, and it was now sporting a nice amount of beer down the front, "dude, you made me spill my drink! What the fuck?"

Typical. Sollux hadn't even managed to leave the kitchen. He looked down at the wet costume, and whistled, "Did I do that?" He asked, "Or didn't you get to the toilet in time, and now you're looking for a poor guy to blame it on?"

This surprised Sollux; he had expected himself to quietly apologise, and hurry past to start making his way to the front door to leave, but instead he had appeared to land himself in even more shit.

Of course, the store-bought Dracula hadn't seen the funny side to this little comment, and he frowned, "I didn't piss myself, you just spilled my drink on me, you asshole."

Sollux didn't dare glance back over to where Karkat, Feferi and Eridan were, he couldn't deal with that shit right now, so he mirrored the frown that was being directed at him, "whatever, dude." He tried to push forwards past the guy, but unfortunately, the Dracula seemed to have friends with him, and they all stood against him, blocking him in. "Fucking hell." Sollux muttered, and he whirled round to storm off towards the sliding doors in the kitchen that would take him out to the garden. Hopefully there would be a gate or something he could leave through, because he really wasn't in the mood to deal with an asshole with backup, especially not with his anxieties coiling inside of him.

"Don't fucking walk away from me!"

Sollux ignored him, and pushed the door to one side and let himself into the garden, and slid it shut behind himself. The cool air was a welcome relief on his skin, and as he stepped onto the patio, he looked around himself to find a gate in the tall garden fence, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness; the light streaming from the windows just weren't illuminating enough of the garden for him to find one. Panic pricked at his heart as he heard the soft swish of the kitchen door being opened.

"I didn't say you could leave." The guy muttered darkly, his words slurred just slightly, giving Sollux the impression that the larger male was drunk.

"I didn't thay you could fucking follow." The nerd spat back, refusing to allow his nerves to get the better of him.

The guy made his way over, and held his fists at his side, "you think you're real funny, don't you?" His voice was loud, and he was on the verge of shouting, and Sollux wondered if the man even realised this.

Sollux shrugged, and grinned, though his stomach was churning enough that he was aware that he might vomit at any moment, "what can I thay? It jutht cometh naturally." He had already started digging his hole, so why stop now?

"You're a stupid cunt, you know that, right?" A few of the guy's friends had come out into the garden, whether to give him a hand, or to stop an altercation, Sollux didn't know. But either way, the numbers were _not_ in Sollux's favour.

Unfortunately, Sollux's patience was non-existent, and he rolled his eyes, "oh my god, shut the fuck up! It wath a little bit of beer! Grow the hell up!" He shouted, feeling a little exasperated at the whole situation. This guy was acting as if he had somehow insulted his honour, but there couldn't have been more than half a cup of beer on his lap.

Roxy's voice was loud and clear from the kitchen door, "eyy, eyy! Cut it out, Rolal's orders!" Her arms were folded, and she looked as though she was about to storm right over.

Sollux held up a hand and motioned towards Roxy, "you heard her, Rolal'th orderth. Come on, let'th jutht forget it." He didn't even get the chance to look at the guy again, before his face snapped to one side and he stumbled with the force of the punch.

The world swayed for a second, and Sollux slumped over a little; he sucked in a mouthful of air between his gritted teeth, and could taste the blood that was running in rivets down his lips and chin; the pain blossomed over his entire face, and white and black dots danced in front of his eyes. He straightened up just a little as he brought his hands up to his nose, and saw that they came away covered in red.

He was about to shout a hideous remark, when a block of violet shot in front of him.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Sollux instantly recognised the icily calm voice, and he straightened up as the young man in front of him swung a punch back at his assailant. It connected, and the man was sent sprawling to the floor.

As Sollux tried to move around him, Eridan held out an arm protectively, "get up." He commanded, his voice still dripping with cold distaste; he was glaring at the man who was struggling to get his bearings, "if you want to fight someone then you're more than welcome to fuckin' try, but my patience was worn away to nothin' so you'll have to deal with fightin' me instead a my friend here. Now, either get up an try speakin' to me the way you spoke to my good friend, or fuck off. I don't have all night to waste waitin' around for you to stop rollin' on the floor. Get up."

The man sneered with blood-streaked teeth, and he shakily stood up before bringing his fists up in a poorly executed stance "you got just got lucky is all, come on then!" Without even giving himself enough time to properly get his bearings, the man threw a fist at Eridan.

Eridan didn't even hesitate; he grabbed the fist, and used the man's own momentum to his advantage. In one fluid motion, he stepped to the left, and pulled the man forwards, then punched him squarely in the jaw.

The man fell like a sack of shit.

"Oh. Did I get lucky again?" Eridan's voice was cool and collected, and he glared at the man as he addressed his acquaintances, "someone get this asshole away from me before he ends up doin' somethin' that he is most definitely goin' to regret. Take your friend here, an piss off."

There was a quiet murmur from the group, but they eventually moved forwards, and a person dressed as superman, and another that was wearing a cowboy outfit, hefted the heckler away. As they left, a few of them hastily admitted that he always picked fights with people when he was drunk, and others told Eridan and Sollux to fuck off.

While the people shambled away, Eridan did not move from his defensive position; he stood tall, with his chest puffed up, and his fists clenched. Sollux glanced at him, and saw that though he was wearing violet contact lenses, his eyes still burned with a visible, intense hatred. The thought 'if looks could kill, we'd be looking at a homicide,' crossed Sollux's mind fleetingly.

Once they were gone, Sollux sighed, and struggled to find his words, "uhh, thankth." He shrugged, and expected Eridan to just walk away, but he was surprised when the violet eyes turned towards him; they were suddenly devoid of any fury, as worry had taken its place.

"Oh my God." Eridan whispered, "come on, you need to get cleaned up." He placed a hand on Sollux's back, and led him away from the garden, and back into the house. People gave them worried glances as they walked past, but Eridan barely seemed to notice. After checking a few rooms here and there, Eridan finally found one of the bathrooms, and he hurried Sollux inside.

Sollux pulled the lid of the toilet down, and would have laughed at the ridiculous pattern of fish that adorned it, but a twinge of pain suddenly raced through his nose, and settled beneath his eyes, "fuck!" He whispered as he dropped himself onto the toilet; it was bullshit in Sollux's opinion, he hadn't deserved a bloody nose, and it was hurting like hell.

Over by the sink, Eridan was pottering around, he found a black washcloth in one of the drawers, and he soaked it in warm water before wringing it out and returning to Sollux, "this is goin' to suck." He said softly, cupping Sollux's jawline with one hand and tilting his head upwards; Eridan crouched between Sollux's legs, and stared intently at him as he dabbed the soft washcloth against the Gemini's lips and chin.

Every now and again, mostly when Eridan tried to clean Sollux's nose, Sollux would flinch and mumble an expletive, to which Eridan would whisper an apology. But, for the most part, they stayed quiet, each wrapped up in their own thoughts more than anything else.

When Eridan was finished, he looked up at Sollux, "how are you feelin'?" He asked, his voice full of genuine concern.

Sollux shrugged, "still hurtth, but it'th feeling better, I gueth." The pain had become a dull throbbing, but he could wiggle his nose without feeling any fresh pain, which meant that it was already getting better in his opinion. He noticed that Eridan hadn't stopped cupping his cheek, and he leant against the hand gratefully, "thankth, ED."

The use of the nickname seemed to have caught Eridan's attention, and he gave a half-smile as he smoothed his thumb against Sollux's cheek, "don't mention it." He shuffled a little on his knees, and the soles of his shoes squeaked against the tiled floor, "so what happened between you an that guy? Who was the one who tried pickin' the fight?"

"Fuck that guy. We bumped into each other, and he thpilled hith drink down himthelf. He got shitty, and I told him to shut up, and he wouldn't let it fucking go, I tried to leave and he followed me." After a second, Sollux added, "alright, yeah, I admit I kept giving him shit and I _might_ have antagonithed him a bit, but not enough to detherve a punch in the fathe."

Eridan shook his head, "I partially overheard you an the guy tradin' words in the kitchen, an then I saw him follow you out into the garden, I'm just sorry that I didn't come out sooner."

They sat quietly, neither knowing what to say next. Sollux was a little lost in trying to find the words he wanted to say; apologies and gentle words slipped past his grasp, and he struggled to find anything better than, "I'm thorry for everything."

Eridan nodded, "I know you are, you fuckin' idiot." He finally moved his hand away from Sollux's cheek and stood up to clean the washcloth with hot water.

Sollux was a little unsure, but he felt as though Eridan had moved away because he had apologised, so he tried changing the subject, "tho, are you having fun at the party?"

"No offence, but this has been the most exciting shit that's happened to me all night. I came here to hang out with Fef, Kan, an her girlfriend Rose, but so far it's been a shitty night." He shrugged, and wrung the water out of the flannel before dropping it into the laundry-basket, "Fef's been pointin' out guys every now an again, tryin' to cheer me up, but so far it's not worked." He shook his head, and finally looked at Sollux, still a little concerned, "what about you? Have you been enjoyin' yourself here?"

"Oh yeah, I'm having a whale of a time." Sollux muttered sarcastically, "I jutht love being punched in the fathe, it'th my favourite path-time." He folded his arms, and continued to frown, but this eventually gave way to a more self-pitying expression, "to be honetht, I jutht want to go home now."

The concern had softened Eridan's features, and he nodded, "want me to find Kar so that he can take you back?"

Sollux paused; he really did want to go home, especially considering the fact that he felt like utter crap, and his face still felt ached like hell. He nodded, "I'd appreciate it. Thankth."

There was a tiny hesitation before Eridan moved, "I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised, before opening the bathroom door. He stepped through the doorway, allowing Roxy to take his place.

"Oh, hey Roxthy." Sollux said, a little surprised.

Roxy closed the door behind herself, and set herself down on the rim of the bathtub, "hey Solluxander." She tilted her head, "I chased that asshole and his crew out of the house, and I'm totally sorry that they hit you. I thought the pee joke was kind of funny, to be honest."

"Yep, I'm pretty hilariouth, aren't I?" Sollux groaned as he touched his nose gently, it was still sore, and he wondered if it would bruise at all. His train of thought was cut short when he noticed the way Roxy was smirking at him, "what'th that look for?"

"Eridan was pretty quick to jump to your aid, huh?" Roxy mused, wiggling her eyebrows.

"If you call coming out after the bullshit went down 'quick', then yeah. He wath Thpeedy fucking Gonzales." Sollux rolled his eyes, and folded his arms.

"What?" Roxy raised looked confused for a moment, "Eridan was the one who asked me if I could break up the argument. He said that you probably wouldn't have liked to have _him_ shout at the guys, because things were totes awkward between the both of you two." She grinned at the shocked expression that Sollux was wearing, and continued, "but that shit went out the window the second he saw that assmunch was about to hit you. He told us all to stay back and was out the door like a caped crusader, ready to plough down anything in his path. Ehehe, I bet you'd like him to plough something else though, wonk-wonk."

Sollux snorted, "Oh my god, you-" He quickly shut his mouth as the door opened, and Eridan stepped through, "oh, shit, hey ED."

"Hey, am I interruptin' somethin'?" Eridan asked, as Roxy laughed uncontrollably. He raised an eyebrow, and put his hands on his hips, "anyway, I found Kar, an I don't know why but he asked me if I would be the one to walk you home. He was fuckin' fumin' about those guys, so I think that he's probably goin' to head back to yours soon, too." He looked a little uncertain, and his eyes flicked towards Roxy, probably not appreciating the fact that she was watching them both with a coy smile, "I don't mind escortin' you back, if you want, but if you'd prefer to wait for Kar to leave then I don't mind. Whatever's good for you, to be honest."

If there was any way for Eridan to appear any more hesitantly shy, Sollux couldn't imagine it, because at that moment the hipster just seemed like he was trying to be so helpful, and really did have his best interests at heart. Sollux stood up, "nah, fuck it, let'th go." He said, trying to seem as if it wasn't any kind of big deal to him, or anything, "thee you later, Roxthy, thankth for the invite."

The blonde girl winked, "ain't no thing, catch you later guys."

Though the house was still full to the brim with guests, Eridan didn't seem to have any problem getting through the sheer amount of people, and he strode through with his head held high. A few people glanced at him, and who could blame them? He was an imposing figure, and was clothed in a gloriously princely costume.

Sollux, however, was walking along with his head down, trying not to be noticed. He felt like a common pigeon walking in the shadow of a fabulous peacock, but he didn't mind too much, because it was nice to be able to fall under the radar of people's attention. Of course, the fact that the party was still in full-swing meant that people kept dipping in front of them, and between them, and Sollux was falling further behind. A small group of people stopped in front of Sollux to chat, and he tip-toed to try and keep sight of Eridan; he tried to excuse himself around the group, but he was so anxious about losing Eridan, and he just wanted to get out, and-

Eridan's hand was cool as it grasped Sollux's, and Sollux stared at him with thankful eyes. The Aquarius gently pulled him forwards, and kept their hands clasped as he led the nerd through the last few rooms until they were finally outside.

The night sky was quite clear, and enough stars were visible to catch Sollux's attention, and he looked upwards as they both walked along. As they left the house behind them, Sollux was grateful that he was finally away from the ridiculous amount of people, and the blaring music; it was so relaxing to be able to hear himself think again, and his chest was already feeling much better now that his anxiety was subsiding.

After a minute, and once the house was well behind them, Sollux mumbled, "thankth." He turned his attention to the ground and watched his own feet move ahead of each other, and tried to focus on the hand still holding his own.

Eridan shrugged, "ain't nothin' to be thanked for." He seemed to finally notice their hands, and he pulled his own away with a murmured apology. Before Sollux could say anything, Eridan quickly said, "so me an Kar were talkin' earlier, an he asked if I wanted to come round to watch some films with him, but I thought I should check with you to see if that's goin' to be okay. I mean, if it isn't, I'll ask Kar if he wants to just watch films round mine."

"Why wouldn't it be okay with me?" Sollux inquired, but his answer came in the form of a sceptical expression that Eridan was making, "oh, right. Well, I'm not going to thtop you from coming round, tho fill your bootth, dude."

This seemed to please Eridan, and he nodded, "fair enough. Then I suppose you'll be seein' me every now an again."

They quietened down again, each wondering what they could say next, but neither knowing for certain what would be appropriate. In the end, they settled for simply staying silent until they reached the crossroads that would lead them both home in their separate directions, at which point, Eridan said, "right, let's get you home."

Sollux scoffed quietly, and shook his head, "no, ED, you don't have to walk me home, I'll walk you back to yourth."

"Why? It's not like I can't get home myself." Eridan replied, placing a hand on his now angled hip, and raising an eyebrow.

_Because I'm afraid you won't make it again_. The thought lingered in his mind, and though the words rose to his lips, he could not bear to give them voice. Sollux shook his head, "pleathe."

Eridan held up a hand, "Sollux, I'm not a child, now come on, either let me walk you home, or fuck off right now. I ain't havin' you comin' all the way to mine just for some kind a lingerin' goodbye. At least if I come to yours, I can walk away with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that you're home an that some asshole ain't goin' to jump you." His voice was stern, but it held within it a soft warmth, "now come on, let's get you home." With that, he turned, and began walking in the direction that would lead him to Sollux's.

The Gemini hesitated, and briefly considered storming off towards Eridan's house until the hipster would be forced to follow, but he somehow doubted whether or not he'd be the most stubborn in this situation. He sighed loudly, and quickly caught up with Eridan, almost instantly falling into stride with him, "fine. You win." He muttered, not bothering to mask the amusement in his voice.

They walked in near-silence, and once or twice their hands accidentally brushed against one another. Sollux wanted to grab Eridan's hand, and hold it once again, but he didn't want to piss the Aquarius off, so he sneakily held his hand a little closer, and hoped for more brief touches, wondering if the same thoughts were going through Eridan's mind too.

It took them no time at all to reach the apartment building, and Sollux wished that it could have taken longer. He pulled his keys out of his pocket, "here we are, then."

"Yep." Eridan watched him, and looked almost as awkward as Sollux was feeling, "I'll wait until I see you get inside, otherwise Kar'll bitch at me somethin' chronic." He pulled his cape around himself against the chill in the air, and smiled sadly.

Sollux nodded, and looked up to his front door, wishing he could say something, anything, to keep their meeting going for just a little longer. There was a hundred and one things that he _wanted_ to say, but nothing seemed right, and everything he wanted to say wouldn't leave his lips, but it was now or never, he had to do it, he _had_ to.

Fuck it.

Sollux turned back to the hipster, and brought his hands up to grab both of Eridan's. He took a deep breath, though it did nothing to calm his nerves even the slightest, and with a voice that shook just a little, he asked, "Do you want to maybe go on a date with me thome time?"

Eridan looked a little surprised; he glanced down at the hands clasping his own so tightly, and noted that they felt as though they were shaking, "Sol, I don't know…" He bit his lip, and hesitated, but before he could even think of how to answer the question, Sollux had quickly pulled away, looking sheepish.

"Forget it, it wath a thpur of the moment quethtion," he quickly said, shoving his own hands into his pockets to hide just how much they were shaking. Sollux cursed himself for being such a fool. How could he think that Eridan would ever be interested in willingly spending even another moment with him?

The nerd ascended the steps to his front door as fast as he could, and fumbled with his keys as humiliation burned his cheeks, "anyway, thankth for walking me home, get home thafe, and all that. I'll probably thee you again at thome point, becauthe of that movie thing you'll be doing with Kar, tho-"

"I don't have any conference calls or meetin's that I need to attend to on Tuesday."

Sollux whirled around, and saw that Eridan actually looked a little shy. He swallowed the lump in his throat, "wait, what? Doeth that mean you'll be free to go out with me?" He dared to ask.

Eridan gave a little nod as he held his arms behind his back, "I suppose it does."

"Yeth!" Sollux's face broke into a crooked grin, and he leapt down the steps to return to Eridan's side as quickly as he could; he desperately wanted to throw his arms around the hipster, and spin him around, but he daren't for fear of scaring him away, "Then put a thtar on your calendar, ED, becauthe I'm taking you out."

"Wwell, all I'm sayin' is that you had better hope that nothin' goes wwrong. This date has to be fuckin' perfect to evven _slightly_ impress me." Eridan seemed to hesitate before speaking again, "I'm actually lookin' forwward to this, so don't fuck it up… I guess I'll see you Tuesday then, Sol." Though his stutter had been more pronounced and his cheeks were a bright red, he didn't seem to notice, and he flashed Sollux a shy smile before hurrying away in the direction of his own house.

"Bye, ED." Sollux continued to grin as an excited bout of laughter bubbled up from his chest; he hurried inside the building, and quickly began thinking of a hundred and one places that he could take Eridan. It needed to be perfect, and romantic, and he needed to wear something that would make him look sublime.

Afterall, it was most definitely a date.


	51. The Perfect Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took way too long to write, and I am so sorry. So I've had an incredibly stressful two months, which included one of my best friend's and my own birthday, and as anyone who follows me on Tumblr will know, earlier this week a work colleague played a fun trick on me which ended up with me falling from a height of about 6 foot, and hurting my back so badly I had to be taken to hospital. But it's okay, I'm taking pain meds, and I'm back at work now ((I have two 15-hour shifts in a row this weekend, so I spent all day writing so that you guys could have this up before then!))  
> I'm very sorry everyone :c  
> I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter though! I know nothing about flowers, so I really hope I didn't cock up with those… Internet don't fail me now! Thank you everyone who has continued to read and review this story c: it means the absolute world to me! <3

There were a thousand things that Sollux wanted to do on Tuesday, and truth be told he could have done any number of them in an attempt to impress Eridan, but he wanted to play it safe and do something traditional and romantic rather than something that could possibly be risky. Especially seeing as this date had to be _absolutely_ perfect.

Sollux tapped his foot as he listened to the dull droning sound that accompanied waiting for someone to answer their damn phone, but his irritation was short lived as the call was picked up by a man who sounded formal and curt.

"Good afternoon, Fulci's."

"Oh, hey, I'd like to book a table for two thith Tuethday?" Sollux asked hopefully, crossing his fingers as if it would somehow sway luck into his favour.

The soft sound of pages being turned was heard, before the man repeated, "this Tuesday?" He wasn't asking for Sollux to reply, but more in a way of reiterating the fact that he had most definitely understood what the young man had said, "the only slot we have available for Tuesday is at seven thirty, would that be acceptable?"

It was hard to stop the grin from appearing on his face, "yeah, that'll be great, thank you." Sollux quickly bit the lid off his pen, and scrawled 'Tuesday – 19:30' right onto the wall, hardly caring about the fact that it would stay there until the room was repainted.

"And what name shall I book it under?"

Sollux held the phone away from his head as he spat the plastic lid out, and he couldn't help but feel slightly victorious as it hit one of his empty energy drink cans on his desk, "book it under Captor."

The man mumbled the name under his breath as he made a note of the name, "I would like to take a moment to inform you that turning up late could lose you your reservation, sir."

"Yeah, don't worry about that, I'll be there early to make sure that thith goeth perfectly." Sollux drummed his fingers against his knee, feeling excited, "thankth again."

"My pleasure, sir. Goodbye." With that, the man hung up, and so did Sollux.

In Sollux's opinion, going out for a meal seemed to be the safest option for a perfect date. There wasn't much that could go wrong with good food and a nice ambiance, and besides, if something _did_ go wrong, it wouldn't be Sollux's fault, but rather the waiting staff's. Even so, as Sollux shoved his phone back in his pocket, he hoped more than anything else that nothing _would_ go wrong.

Just as he settled down at his laptop, his door opened.

"KK, I wath about to do thome work, what do you want?"

Karkat leant against his doorframe, with an eyebrow arched, "I heard your excited warbling through the door, and assumed that you must have sorted something out for the little date you're planning." It was obvious that the shorter man was itching to give out some well-versed relationship advice, "so do me a favour and settle the squirming mass of curiosity currently coiling inside of me, and let me know what you've gone and booked."

It would have been easy for Sollux to just ignore the look Karkat was giving him, and get a rise out of him by refusing to tell him anything, but he wasn't in the mood to play around like that, so he simply pointed at the writing on his wall, "dinner at Fulci'th."

Karkat whistled, "You got a table at Fulci's on this short notice? Someone up there must like you."

"Mhm." Sollux began typing; he had recently acquired another small coding job; just a simple website deal, and he wanted to finish it before the date day, so that it wouldn't play on his mind. But as he tapped away, the fact that Karkat was still watching him began to distract him. After about a minute and a half of silence, Sollux sighed loudly, and turned back to his friend, "what?"

Finally being acknowledged, Karkat perked up a little, and stood on his own instead of leaning against the doorframe, "aren't you going to ask me for some of my well-researched knowledge of romance and makeup dates?"

"Well-rethearched? You're having a fucking laugh," Sollux snorted, "you've never even been on a make-up date! You can't call watching all of your fucking movieth _rethearch_ , KK." He shook his head disbelievingly, and watched as Karkat's cheeks pinkened.

"If you're going to take the piss out of my generous offer, then you can shove it so far up your ass that you'll be choking on your own scorn for a week." It almost looked as though Karkat was about to leave, but he stopped and sighed, "I just happen to know that Eridan has a fondness for certain things, and I thought that you might want some help with this, you know, considering how you fucked up so gracefully."

Sollux bit his tongue, and looked at his friend evenly. He was beginning to lose his patience with the shorter man, "I altho jutht happen to know what Eridan would like," he said calmly, his voice not betraying his growing irritation, "I wath hith boyfriend long enough to learn a few thingth, you know, and I happen to have planned a few good dateth on my own."

The pair stared at each other with unmasked annoyance on their faces. Finally, Karkat shrugged, and turned to leave, "whatever, Sollux. I was only trying to prevent you from cocking up again." He huffed, and swung the door open, but before he could leave, a quiet voice made him pause.

"Thankth for the offer."

It was said a little begrudgingly, and when Karkat glanced back at Sollux, the nerd was already busying himself with his laptop, pretending as if he hadn't said a word. Sighing quietly, Karkat decided that this was most definitely the best he was going to get out of his best friend, and he decided to take it as both an apology _and_ as a show of gratitude for the offer of help, so he gave in, "he likes violets, and roses. All that typical stuff." He tapped his fingers on the doorframe before adding, "he used to say that he never got that sort of thing off people, so the poor fucker really appreciates romantic sentiments and stuff." With that, Karkat finally left the room.

Sollux chewed on his lip as his fingers hovered over the mouse-pad. After only a brief hesitation, he opened a new tab, and began searching for the perfect florist nearby.

-.-.-.-.-

"Eridan, stop floundering about and help me find you an outfit for your date!"

Eridan opened his mouth awkwardly as he removed a purple contact lens, "you missed out on like, three fish-puns there, Fef."

"Really? You're going to talk about my punning skills when you have somefin as important as a date tonight?" Feferi threw down the navy blue turtleneck she was holding, and held her arms up, "what the hell is going on with you? Why aren't you freaking out about this?" She watched as her step-brother gently washed the lens with some solution, and then placed it in its correct place in a small white container before starting on the next eye.

"You could have said _aboat_ and _kelp_." The hipster's voice remained uninterested as he repeated the procedure for his second lens. After he was done, he slowly stood, placed the little container on his vanity-desk, and then walked past Feferi to get to the bathroom.

Feferi made an exasperated noise, and followed him, "why are you acting like this? You said that Aradia explained the whole thing to you! It was an innocent misunderstanding, well okay, not _completely_ innocent, but still!" She folded her arms and huffed as Eridan began washing his hands meticulously, "why aren't you climbing the walls with nerves? I thought you would have been excited, and nervous, and all that fun stuff! It's a date, Eridan, you _love_ dates!"

Eridan did not speak as he washed his hands, nor did he speak as he dried them. It wasn't until he walked straight past Feferi yet again that he said anything, "I'm almost shocked with how many puns you're missin' out on makin'." His slow strides were cut short as his arm was grabbed, and he was yanked back.

Face to face with her brother, Feferi frowned and narrowed her eyes, "stop talking about the puns, and tell me what's going on."

"You could have said _glubbin'_ there, you-"

"ERIDAN!"

Eridan's mouth shut with a snap, and he matched his sister's expression. After a moment he relented, "Fef, this ain't goin' to be some kind a magic fix-it date. It's not goin' to erase all the shit Sol did." His voice was a little cold, "stop thinkin' that me an Sol are goin' to be fine just because he's takin' me out somewhere. It's _just_ a date." He pulled his arm away, and went over to his bed, flopping onto it in a rather ungraceful manner.

"Erifin, you shouldn't be such a pessimist! This might be exactly what the two of you need to repair your relationship," she lifted a carefully ironed black suit-shirt, and held it out towards him, "aren't you the tiniest bit excited about this?"

Eridan gazed at the offered shirt with boredom in his eyes, "I _was_ a little excited when he first asked me out, but I've had time to think about it, an I've decided that I really don't want to get my hopes up about it." He reached out towards his bedside table, and pulled open the drawer, rifling through it half-heartedly in an attempt to appear busy while his step-sister glared at him.

While Feferi searched through his wardrobe, Eridan stared at the messy innards of the drawer; he pushed papers this way and that, not looking for anything in particular, more hoping to find something that would distract him for more than a few minutes. He paused when he saw smooth, faux-black leather.

Anything would have been better than having to listen to the constant scolding that was being directed towards him by a disgruntled young woman, but Eridan felt as though he had hit the jackpot with his find. He rolled onto his stomach, and flipped the protective case of his DS open, then stroked the glossy surface of his red console. With a little grin, Eridan turned it on, and began trying to block out everything else.

He hadn't touched his DS since he and Sollux had broken up, and truth be told, he had forgotten its existence. But Eridan was thankful that he had forgotten about it, as he might have sent it back to Sollux if he hadn't.

Feferi fussed over a few outfits she had put together, "what about these? I mean, they're not too casual, but you won't look like you've just rolled out of bed at least." She turned around, exasperated, to glare at her brother, "Eridan, you could at least answer me, I'm…" She lowered the clothing in her hand, and took a step towards the bed, her voice softening, "Eridan?"

The hipster was too focused on the screen to notice that he was being addressed. His hand was clamped firmly over his mouth, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Full of concern, Feferi slowly made her way over, wondering what in the hell Eridan could have seen that could have warranted this kind of reaction. She plopped down next to him, and leant against him to have a look; on the screen was a large purple seahorse-like creature, who was tilting his head at them, "oh!" She exclaimed, "He's so cute! What's his name?"

"Barbossa!" Eridan finally choked out, spitting out the word as if it somehow pained him to say it. He bit his lip as hard as he could as Feferi swiped the stylus from his fingers, and gave the Kingdra a playful belly-rub.

"You named him after your seahorse?" Feferi asked, smiling as she moved the stylus to Barbossa's head to continue the affectionate patting, making a trio of little hearts appear, "oh look, he likes me!"

Eridan hiccupped back a noise as his Barbossa turned to look at him curiously before succumbing to another round of petting. He pulled his hands inside the sleeves of his tight sweater, and stubbornly wiped his eyes and nose against the soft fabric, snuffling. The last thing he wanted to do was cry over a damn game, and yet that was exactly what he was doing, not that there was anything he could have done to prevent it, the shock of seeing his beloved Barbossa immortalised in the game was almost too much for him to bear. Though, truth be told, it was nice to have a lasting reminder of him.

After a minute, Feferi looked up at Eridan, and handed him the stylus before putting an arm around him to pull him close, "you silly thing." She said gently, squeezing him affectionately, "it's ocray to be sad."

"I'm not sad!" Eridan wailed, not even bothering to try and hide how upset he actually was.

After the shock had worn off, and Eridan was able to stop petting Barbossa, he saved and turned off his DS, and Feferi beamed up at him, "hey, why don't you come choose an outfit with me, to take your mind off things." She grabbed a tissue out of the tissue box on Eridan's bedside table, and handed it to him.

Eridan nodded and wiped his face, then allowed Feferi to lead him to the wardrobe to pick some suitable outfits.

-.-.-

Only three short hours later, Eridan was alone again; Feferi had helped him choose a casual outfit consisting of a black shirt, tight purple sweater, and black skinny-jeans. Casual enough that he wouldn't look over-dressed, but nice enough that he definitely wouldn't look under-dressed. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was how to make himself look good.

As he was checking his hair for the fifth time in twenty minutes, Eridan had to admit that he was actually starting to feel excited, and also a wonderful kind of anxiousness that made his toes feel funny, and his stomach tense. He was just about to consider changing the studs in his ears when he heard a knock at the door.

His reflection matched his wide grin, and Eridan quietly rushed down the stairs to his front door, but once he reached it, he took a moment to take a few calming breaths, and to smooth the non-existent wrinkles out of his sweater before placing a shaking hand on the handle.

Eridan opened the door, and was immediately confronted with a ridiculously large bouquet of flowers. He couldn't help but snort when he saw Sollux's head appear over the top, "oh good God, did you buy the entire fuckin' florist?" He stepped aside, and covered his mouth with a hand to hide his amused smile as the Gemini struggled to step through the doorframe while holding the huge floral arrangement.

Once he was inside, Sollux huffed, and tried to move the bouquet so that the gathered stems were resting on one hip, "what? No… Maybe… Fuck, I didn't think it would be _thith_ bloody big, now did I?" He gave a slightly crooked smile when he realised that Eridan was trying not to laugh.

"I'll be right back." Eridan said, quickly turning away to hurry towards the kitchen.

There was a brief clattering noise, and Sollux struggled to follow him, "Eridan, thethe are too heavy, I theriouthly need to put them down." He let himself into the kitchen, and saw that Eridan was dusting off a couple of vases, he grinned as Eridan finally relieved him of the heavy bouquet, "thankth."

Eridan set them down on the table, and untied the large purple organza bow before slitting the thin plastic wrapping with a pair of scissors, "help me cut the stems while I put them into the vases, Sollux." He smiled as he began snipping the ends of the long stems of the flowers, and began separating them into little groups.

As they worked, Sollux didn't understand why Eridan kept pausing to look at each flower, but he simply shrugged it off as just being something that only an artistic mind would understand. After a while, he was finished helping with the stem-snipping, and decided to sit down and watch Eridan instead.

There was something soothing about watching Eridan work; his nimble fingers were quick and delicate, and a tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows as he silently decided which vase each flower would go into. Sollux rested his cheek on a hand, and continued to watch with a small smile on his face.

After a moment, he was brought out of his little daydream by Eridan's voice asking, "Sollux, do you know anythin' about what flowers represented to the Victorians?"

"What? No." This question came as a surprise to Sollux, and he stopped slouching, "what giveth you that idea?"

Eridan raised his eyebrows and turned towards the Gemini, "well then you must've told the florist somethin' very specific, because they obviously _do_ know their stuff to have put together this arrangement." When Sollux continued to look confused, Eridan sighed, and lifted a deep red flower, "hibiscus represent beauty, an this lilac one is a hyacinth an it represents sincerity."

Sollux shifted in his chair, and pointed towards a particularly frilly white flower, "what about that one?"

"White carnations mean remembrance."

"Oh." Sollux gently picked up a long stem with a mass of tiny clustered flowers, and held it out towards Eridan, "and thith one?"

The tips of Eridan's fingers brushed against Sollux's palm as he took the offered flowers, "lilacs," he said, his lips curling upwards carrying the hint of humour, "first love."

This caught Sollux by surprise, and he cleared his throat before pointing at the only flowers that he was sure he knew, "uhh, rotheth, right?" The wine-red of the smooth petals were very appealing, and Sollux had to admit that he only really knew what they were because of their abundance around Valentine's Day.

Eridan nodded, "correct, an you should probably know that the red ones are for passionate love." It was highly amusing for the hipster to watch as Sollux's cheeks had started to darken to the same shade as the flowers he was using to bully him, and he saw no reason to relent just yet. He arranged the flowers in their vases, and tried to make them look as visually appealing as possible.

While Eridan appeared to be in his element, Sollux panicked internally; he had gotten hold of a seemingly high-end florist only the day before, and had asked them to work on a perfect bouquet. He had asked them to make sure that the flowers meant something, because he was buying them for someone very special, and when the person had jokingly asked if Sollux was buying an apology bouquet for a partner, he could only admit that he was. Truth be told, Sollux had felt pretty smug in the belief that the florist would know how to make a meaningful bouquet, but he had never expected Eridan to know all this shit.

Finally Eridan came to the last few flowers on the table, and he smiled as he lifted the violet tulips, "oh I _like_ these ones, they represent royalty." He slipped them into a vase that was nearing being dangerously full, before raising an eyebrow as he did the same with the white tulips, "an forgiveness, now doesn't that seem fittin'?"

At this point, Sollux was kind of wishing that the ground would swallow him up. He covered his face with his hands, and just made a grunt in response. It would have been bad enough if the hipster had just told him that he knew what they meant, but having him explain every single flower to him was torturous.

Eridan hesitated for a second, and turned away slightly when he lifted the remaining tulips, "an yellow… Yellow tulips mean hopelessly in love." He refused to meet Sollux's eye as the Gemini finally looked over his hands, and instead silently continued to fuss over the flowers.

Sollux swallowed a lump in his throat, and allowed Eridan to ponder for a moment before holding out the last flowers with both hands, they were a mix of blue and purple with tiny petals and yellow middles, "what about thethe oneth?" He asked quietly, hardly wanting to disturb the Aquarius.

Eridan looked down at the offered blooms, "violets are for faithfulness." He replied, allowing his blue eyes to finally meet Sollux's, "thank you for the flowers, Sollux. They're beautiful, an they really don't look like they've just been thrown together on a whim, so thank you." There was a tiny hesitation before Eridan leant down and pressed his lips against Sollux's cheek, then he pulled away, finished his arrangements, and retied the purple organza bow around the largest vase.

All in all there were three vases nearly overflowing with a range of flowers, and Sollux noticed that Eridan was smiling softly as he looked at them. He stood up, and gave Eridan a gentle nudge, "good job."

"Yes, well, I happen to be…" Eridan's words trailed off as he finally actually looked at Sollux, and mentally took in what he was wearing. Then he looked down at himself, then back at Sollux once more. Eridan was wearing a casual outfit, whereas Sollux was wearing the suit that he had bought him when they visited each other's families.

Sollux also seemed to have noticed, and he snorted, "God damn it, ED, even your motht casual clotheth are better than my betht outfitth."

"I am not goin' to be shown up by you of all people, Sollux Captor." Eridan sniffed haughtily, and began making his way back towards the stairs, "you can wait in the livin' room while I get myself changed into somethin' more appropriate, seein' as you must've planned somethin' good to warrant dressin' up like that."

The hipster was already half way up the stairs before Sollux called up to him, "keep the thkinny jeanth on, I like the way they make your ath look!" He laughed loudly when he heard the Aquarius shouting a muffled string of profanities back at him, as he walked towards the living room. Once in the lounge, Sollux kept himself busy by making his way over to the large fish-tank; as he pondered whether or not Eridan might have tidied the shit-tip his room had been in, he kept an eye out for the little seahorse that Eridan had always been so proud of.

It was strange, but as the seconds became minutes, he didn't see neither fin nor scale of the darling pet.

When Eridan walked through the doorway, fiddling with gleaming golden cufflinks, Sollux turned to him and voiced his concerns, "hey, ith Barbotha usually thith shy? I've been looking for him for ageth, and I haven't theen him onthe." He immediately regretted bringing up the seahorse; Eridan's expression fell, and Sollux instantly knew the truth, "I'm tho thorry." He offered weakly.

Eridan simply nodded, and turned his attention back to his cufflinks, "he passed away a little while ago."

"You should have told me, I would have…" Sollux honestly didn't know how he was going to finish the sentence, as he doubted that anything he said would have made the slightest difference, but he still felt as though he should offer some kind of condolences.

"You were the last person in the world I would have wanted to see. No offence, but I had literally just found out about you and Aradia, so…" Eridan stopped himself, and shut his mouth abruptly. He looked up as Sollux approached him.

It had been clear that the Aquarius' hands had started shaking, so Sollux brushed the hand aside, and helped Eridan to fix his chain-linked cufflinks. It was a little tricky for him to do, as he wasn't used to doing that kind of fiddly work, but to his credit, Eridan stood, and allowed Sollux to help him. Once the polished gold was in place, Sollux spoke quietly, "if you've buried him, we can thay hi, if you want."

This appeared to be exactly the right thing to say, as Eridan's eyes seemed to take on a hopeful look, "really?"

It was clear to Sollux that Eridan had cherished the animal, and that having someone else mourn its demise was a sentiment that meant a lot. So he nodded, not quite understanding how someone could love a pet so much, but wanting nothing more than for Eridan to be unashamed of his grief.

Eridan carefully took Sollux's hand in his own, and led him to the kitchen, then out into the garden. The sun had almost completely disappeared over the tops of the houses that were so far away, and the sky was a glorious mix of the brightest reds and pinks. They both made their way over to one of the small rose bushes, and once they reached it, Eridan whispered in a hushed voice, "He's there."

Sollux stared down at the little mound beneath the bush; it was surrounded by a circle of polished dark stones, and covered in clear glass pebbles. He shuffled a little, and bit his lip, not knowing what to say, then finally slipped his hand from Eridan's, and pulled him close in an attempt to comfort him, "it lookth nithe." As an afterthought, he added, "I'm thorry."

Eridan simply shook his head, and allowed Sollux to give him a half-embrace, then pulled away, "there's nothin' that can be done about it, so why get sad anymore?" He said as he hurriedly wiped a hand across his eyes, though his expression betrayed the words. He bumped his other hand against Sollux's, and their fingers linked together without either person needing to give much thought about the action.

They walked away from the tiny grave, and returned to the house. Sollux was silently relieved to see that Eridan stopped to lock the back door, and check it three times, though he refused to bring it up. He gave a small smile to the hipster, before leaning forwards on impulse to press a small kiss against his forehead, and was pleasantly surprised when Eridan didn't pull away and instead returned the sad smile.

Hand-in-hand they left the house, and got into Eridan's dark purple car, "so, where are we goin'?" Eridan asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

Sollux grinned mischievously, pride bubbling up inside of him, "Oh, jutht a little plathe called _Fulci'th_." The feeling continued to swell inside of him as he saw the impressed look on Eridan's face, "our rethervation ith in half an hour, tho we should get there thoon."

-.-.-

"Would you mind repeating that for me, becauthe I don't think I heard you properly." Sollux looked at the man in front of him coldly.

"Sir, your reservation was for seven thirty this _morning_." He replied, turning round the hand-written ledger to prove it. True to his word, there in black italics next to the 7:30 timeslot was the name _Sollux Captor_.

Eridan snorted quietly, and folded his arms, then turned towards Sollux with a half-amused expression on his face, "seven thirty in the mornin', Sollux, really?" He said, before shaking his head, "I doubt I would have wanted dinner at that time a the day."

"Why would I have booked a table for that time? That'th ridiculouth." Sollux hissed, trying not to get too frustrated at what must have been an error on the part of the man who had taken his reservation details over the phone.

"Well sir, we happen to have an excellent continental breakfast service, with the finest-"

Sollux held up a hand, "I get it. Thankth." He groaned quietly, and held the door open for Eridan, feeling completely embarrassed and more than a little pissed off.

Once they were both out of the restaurant, Eridan spoke up, "you realise that you're a complete fuckin' idiot, right?"

"Yeth, ED, thank you." Sollux grumbled. He looked around as they walked for somewhere that looked nearly half as good as Fulci's, as he still desperately wanted to impress the young Ampora. Thankfully there were a few restaurants dotted along the road they walked together, and even a little chip-shop.

"We could have a bite at the King's Head, if you want?" Eridan offered, pointing at a rustic-looking pub a little further up the road, he gave Sollux a little shove, "come on, don't be so shitty, the night's still young an all that."

This didn't make Sollux feel any better, "thith wath thuppothed to be perfect, and it'th already off to thuch a _brilliant_ thtart."

Eridan rolled his eyes, "shit happens." He said, shrugging. A sly smile grew across his face, and he elbowed Sollux in the ribs, "besides, it's probably for the best that we didn't go to Fulci's anyway."

"And why ith that?" Sollux asked, frowning a little and thinking that the hipster was just trying to humour him.

"Because I've been there before, and it sure as shit ain't your kind a place. The food's all pretentious, an the portion sizes are stupidly small because apparently that's what high-class people like." After a second, he added, "they do have really good fish dishes though."

This actually made Sollux smirk a little, "pretentiouth food? Shit, that really _would_ have been the perfect plathe to take you." He snorted when Eridan elbowed him yet again, and he returned the blow quickly.

They wandered around for a little while, enjoying the smell of the salt air, and the sound of the waves; it was nice seeing all the little shops, cafes, and restaurants situated along the seaside, and Sollux made a mental note that it might be nice to bring Eridan back there for a visit in the day. _If_ he got a second chance, that was.

Pushing the ensuing doubts from his mind before they devolved into vicious self-deprecation, Sollux returned his attention to the scattered food establishments. As they walked past the large glass doors or windows, Sollux noted that each restaurant seemed really rather busy; he cast a doubtful look towards Eridan, who just sped up his walking pace.

Finally Eridan huffed loudly, "God damn it, Sol, just chose somewhere! My stomach is about to fuckin' devour itself here!" His voice took on a slightly whiney tone at the end, which was punctuated by him grabbing hold of his own stomach.

Sollux slapped a hand to his own face, and mumbled against his palm, "are you kidding me? I've been waiting for you to point out which plathe _you_ wanted to go to!"

Glaring at each other with playful annoyance, Sollux finally pointed at the closest pub, "fine, we're eating there, I don't care, come on." He took Eridan's hand once again, and dragged the hipster towards the building, although Eridan didn't really need much persuasion.

The moment they opened the doors, they both breathed in the rich savoury smells of good pub-food, and made their way over to a thankfully empty booth at the back. Sollux hadn't even sat down before he grabbed at a menu and began the task of looking at what he wanted to eat, although it didn't take him long to choose, "fuck it, I'm getting their biggetht thteak, I've earned it."

Eridan eyed his own menu for a little longer, then made a surprised noise, "wow, they do a fresh seafood tagliatelli here! Yeah, I want that." He watched as Sollux hurried over to the bar to place their order, and then returned with two tall glasses of cola. As he took his own drink, he nodded in appreciation.

"Thankth for coming out with me tonight, ED." Sollux said, taking a sip of his drink. He held back from saying everything he wanted to say, mostly because he was afraid that if he opened those flood gates, he'd never be able to stop the onslaught of verbal diarrhoea that would ensue. So he simply leant his head on one hand, and smiled across the table at Eridan, who returned the smile.

"Thanks for askin' me out." Eridan casually replied, stirring his drink with a black straw, "so how's work been?"

As they talked, time ticked on, and Sollux became very aware of the fact that their food still hadn't arrived. Especially when they ordered their third drink of the night. By this time, two hours had already flown past, and it was getting difficult for the two of them to focus with the hunger playing on them so much.

Eventually Eridan slammed his hands on the table, "I am goin' to find out where the fuck our food is." He got up without a single word, and marched towards the bar.

Sollux felt infinitely grateful that the hipster had gone up to ask, as the amount of people in the pub had grown, which had meant his anxiety had grown too. He watched Eridan speak with one of the people at the bar, and he appreciated the view of Eridan's ass, that was until Eridan turned around with a face like thunder and stormed towards him, "whoa, ED, what'th wrong?"

"Our order got lost." Eridan's words were full of hostility and fury, he grabbed his jacket off the chair, and his stomach growled loudly which made his face drop to a look of sheer sadness, "they said that because it's so busy here, we'd be waitin' for at least another forty five minutes before we got our food! Oh God, I can't wait that long I'd rather just go home an eat some fuckin' toast!"

"Shit," Sollux stood up to join Eridan, and waited for him to put his jacket on before taking his hand, "come on, I've got a better idea." He led Eridan out of the pub, and began leading him back towards where they had parked the car, but never crossed the road. Instead, he pulled Eridan towards a small chip shop.

It was ridiculously hot inside, and the lights were such a glaringly bright white that Sollux wished he had worn his sunglasses. But he didn't have time to worry too much as he approached the counter, "hey, can I get two large portionth of chipth, and two canth of coke, and a large cod, pleathe?" He couldn't get the money out of his wallet quick enough.

The man behind the till smiled, "you two been to a party or something?" He asked, obviously referring to the fact that they were both wearing their suits.

"Nope." Sollux grinned widely, and could have kissed the man for shovelling the golden chips into the little paper bags, and half-wrapping it in newspaper. He passed the first load to Eridan, who added a liberal amount of salt, and chose a tiny plastic purple fork from a cardboard dispenser.

Sollux quickly poured both salt and vinegar on his own chips, and gratefully pocketed the cans, then grabbed a blue fork, "thankth, keep the change!"

As they left, he was sure that the man must've been watching them with an amused expression, but he didn't care in the slightest. Instead, he led Eridan to the beach, and he dumped his jacket on the ground for Eridan and himself to sit on. Once they started wolfing down their food, Sollux pushed the newspaper-wrapped, battered cod towards Eridan, "it might not be Fulci'th, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Eridan smiled wistfully, "I haven't sat on a beach eatin' fish an chips since I was a kid. Me an Fef used to love it all those years ago." He stabbed his tiny fork into the fish and looked pretty pleased when the batter crunched, "thank fuck, it ain't all greasy an soggy."

They ate in silence, mostly because they didn't give themselves any time to open their mouths unless food was going in, but after a while, Sollux nudged Eridan, "hey, I'm thorry thith date wath tho shit." He said, wishing more than anything that it could have been the romantic evening he had planned.

Eridan snorted loudly, and set his nearly empty portion of chips down on the sand, "it was an absolute fuckin' disaster, wasn't it?" He wiped his hands on his trousers, and looked over at the dark waves, "but I got to admit, it was nice to actually spend time with you. I missed this." His voice wavered a little, and he turned his attention upwards to the dark sky.

The words hung in the air, and Sollux pushed his own food away too; he bit his lip as he considered his next words, but eventually came to the conclusion of _'fuck it'_ , and replied, "I mithed _you_."

Eridan's eyes trailed downwards from the sky, and he turned to Sollux; they were shoulder-to-shoulder, and their hands were so close that their fingers were barely touching. He seemed to hesitate before he moved his hand over a little to rest it on top of Sollux's, "I missed you too." His words were barely audible over the sound of the nearby waves, and he didn't give Sollux a chance to respond before closing his eyes and leaning forwards to kiss him.

The food remained on the sand, forgotten, as they kissed beneath the stars. Sollux's heart pounded in his chest as he tilted his head and parted his lips, giving Eridan the option to go further, instead of taking that step himself.

Eridan didn't need any more of an invitation, and he tentatively moved his tongue forwards to touch Sollux's. He brought his hands up to drag his fingers through Sollux's scruffy hair, and almost smiled when he heard a noise catch in the nerd's throat.

Sollux took the initiative to wrap his arms around Eridan and pull him closer, afraid of the moment coming to an end, though his fears were silenced when Eridan did the same, and fisted his hands into the fabric covering Sollux's back.

They only parted when their lungs began burning, and they only pulled away far enough to still allow their noses to still touch. Sollux swallowed a lump in his throat, and blinked slowly as he stared into the eyes that seemed to contain the ferociously delicate blue of crushing storms and calming seas.

The waves lapping at the shore hushed them, and soothed the need for words, and they listened to it for a while as they remained in each other's arms. It was as if they were the only people alive.

Finally Eridan pulled away, even with the lack of much light, Sollux could tell that his cheeks were burning, "wwe should probably get goin'." He mumbled reluctantly. He stood up, and began brushing himself off, even though it was truly a fruitless endeavour.

Sollux rose a little awkwardly, "sure."

"I don't mean- I didn't-" for a moment Eridan seemed to struggle to find the words, but he finally blurted out, "I honestly _was_ enjoyin' myself there, I just, I think it's better if we don't get too heavy just yet, I mean this is only the first date an-" His words were cut off as Sollux pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I get it, ED. You don't have to exthplain yourthelf like thith," the nerd smiled crookedly, and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "you really don't."

Eridan smiled appreciatively, and nodded.

When the air began to hold a chill, they both decided that it was in fact time to call it a night and go home. Eridan scolded Sollux for trying to leave his leftover chips and the newspaper they were still wrapped in on the beach, and ended up giving Sollux a little lesson in littering, much to the irritation of Sollux.

The car journey back to Sollux's was much quieter than the rest of the date, though thankfully it was a much lighter atmosphere than it had been on previous occasions. While something catchy played on the radio, Sollux switched between staring out of the windows, and catching little glances at Eridan; the hipster's hair was a little ruffled, and the purple section was no longer in its usual neat shape, and there was sand clinging to the dark fabric of his suit. He smiled cheekily as they eventually pulled up outside his building, "you could alwayth come inthide for thome tea or coffee, if you wanted."

Eridan raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't really think that's very appropriate now is it?"

"I gueth that's more of a thecond date kind of thing, huh." The nerd replied hopefully, trying to sound as casual as humanly possible.

"I suppose it is."

Sollux bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from smiling, and the car was once again filled with an expectant silence. Unable to keep up his casual façade, Sollux looked over at Eridan, "when'th your nextht day off?"

Eridan's face appeared to light up with excitement and relief; it was amazing for Sollux to see how someone could wear their emotions so plainly and unguarded, even if this occurrence was often quite rare.

"I wouldn't mind seein' you next Tuesday, I mean, I might be able to get myself a day off on the weekend, probably Sunday, but then I usually only try to work the first half a the day on Saturday, so maybe we could see each other twice? Not that I'm tryin' to make our encounters a regular occurrence, seein' as you're still on rather thin ice, but I'd still maybe like to hang out for a-" Eridan's seemingly unending ramble was brought to a crashing halt by Sollux's lips firmly being pressed against his.

They both relaxed into the kiss, and even though Sollux had only really meant to give him a quick peck, he was rather happy with the outcome of his actions. He lifted a hand and cupped Eridan's cheek, then regrettably pulled away, "I'll thee you Thaturday." He promised.

Eridan blinked lazily, and looked back and forth between the mismatched eyes that were directed at him, and nodded, "sounds like a plan."

Cursing himself internally, Sollux finally opened the car door and let himself out. He walked the steps to his apartment building, and turned to wave at Eridan, feeling quite pleased when he saw the hipster also raising a hand in farewell before driving away.

Sollux sighed happily as he stepped into his apartment, and barely heard the main buildings doors close behind him before he locked his own door. The voice behind him startled him, and he turned to see Karkat making a coffee.

"Good night?" The shorter man asked as he threw a teaspoon into the sink with a clatter.

Sollux smiled warmly, and rubbed the back of his own neck with a hand as he felt his cheeks and ears burn ever so slightly, "the betht."


End file.
